4 Environmental Benefits of Construction Project Management Software

Protecting the earth’s finite resources is an imperative for organizations of every size in every industry. Everyone has a role to play in making the planet more sustainable, and company leaders are tasked with finding ways to incorporate sustainability into their organizational processes. 

This is particularly true of construction. “The construction industry is one of the largest users of global resources and contributors of pollution,” writes the Go Construct team. “It therefore has a huge responsibility to aid sustainability.”

Construction companies are stepping up to the challenge and focusing on ways to maximize environmental benefits while minimizing the negative impacts of their building processes. 

Promoting Environmental Benefits in the Construction Industry

“Globally, the built environment generates 30 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions annually, and construction consumes approximately 32 percent of the world’s natural resources,” writes Kelly Outram, managing director and head of global contractor development at risk advisor Marsh. To balance that output and consumption, “there is increased activity worldwide to promote greener construction,” she adds. 

This activity takes many forms, such as minimizing environmental disruption, using more sustainable building materials, and reducing energy consumption, explains Dirk Hoogenboom, research consultant at USP Marketing Consultancy.

Some of these sustainability initiatives are aggressive. “As construction companies work to become better prepared to use these sustainable practices and materials,” writes Civil+Structural Engineer Media’s Editor Luke Carothers, “they are turning to a variety of tools they can use to help the process toward sustainability.” 

One of those tools is construction project management software, like eSUB. Here’s how this tool, tailored specifically for trade contractors, supports sustainability initiatives in construction.

Environmental Benefit No. 1: Software Allows Construction Companies to Go Paperless

Going paperless has enormous impacts on combating climate change and promoting sustainability. 

Paper production contributes to high deforestation rates and elevated greenhouse gas emissions that negatively impact the environment. “The industrial process to produce paper from virgin fibres, which are mostly sourced from trees, is one of the biggest producers of both air and water pollution,” explains the Kunak Technologies team.

Paper disposal is also bad for the environment. “Most paper that doesn’t get recycled ends up in landfills,” writes the team at Sunrise Sanitation Services. “As the paper breaks down in landfills, it produces higher amounts of methane, which in turn, contributes to global warming via the greenhouse effect.”

When industries, like construction, consistently consume and dispose of massive amounts of paper, they are advancing those environmental consequences. Recognizing this and endeavoring to do better, more construction companies have started going paperless. 

“After a long, winding, circuitous journey, [the paperless revolution has] finally arrived at the doorsteps of construction,” writes AIA Contract Documents Senior Copywriter Lynn Pearcey. Construction companies are accomplishing the goal of going paperless with digital tools. 

With a project management solution, all project documents are managed digitally. 

This means field teams can submit digital daily reports, field notes, and time sheets instead of lugging around binders filled with paper documents. Change orders, purchase orders, submittals, and RFIs can all be completed and tracked digitally through the technology, reducing the need to consume and dispose of paper. 

In supporting paperless operations, the technology helps trade contractors become more environmentally-friendly. 

Environmental Benefit No. 2: Construction Project Management Technology Helps Trade Contractors Reduce Waste

“Construction waste poses a major problem for the environment,” warns ETM Recycling. It leads to landfill overload, natural resource depletion, and wasteful energy consumption. 

The industry acknowledges there’s a problem and many within it are taking action. Sixty percent of engineering and construction industry companies plan to prioritize waste reduction and the responsible disposal of waste to advance their sustainability, according to Deloitte.

Technology aids these efforts. Project management solutions show trade contractors how much material is actually being used on site and how much is wasted. Armed with that information, you can make adjustments in real-time.

Sustainability adjustments might include recycling and repurposing waste materials on current projects. For future projects, you will be able to order more precisely what you need for each project using historical data about materials ordered versus materials used. Your business will not only produce less waste but can also dispose of it in more environmentally-friendly ways.

Environmental Benefit No. 3: Trade Contractors Can Select More Eco-Friendly Materials

Another way to reduce your impact on the environment and promote better sustainability is to use more eco-friendly building materials.  

“Technological advancements have paved the way for a new generation of more robust, lighter, and renewable building materials,” writes Chris Jackson, business development manager at Best Access Doors. “These ecological materials also help promote a cleaner Earth by reducing the carbon footprint of the buildings that utilize these elements.”

The problem for many trade contractors is the higher upfront costs become prohibitive. 

“Sustainable materials can be more expensive upfront compared to traditional materials,” shares marketing assistant Rea Bartolome at Custom Coastal Products. “This is often due to the lower economies of scale for sustainable products, higher costs of raw materials, and the newness of the technologies used.”

Cost is a significant obstacle to sustainability in the construction industry where trade contractors already battle on a daily basis to control spending. “Engineering and construction leaders face competing pressures as they try to control costs while focusing on reducing the carbon footprint,” note Erin Roberts and Jennifer Leitsch at EY.

Construction project management technology helps trade contractors go green by enabling them to track materials costs in real-time throughout a project. With that data, you can assess expenses compared to the project budget with a view to finding some flexibility in materials pricing that allows you to choose eco-friendly materials while keeping costs down. 

That materials cost data can also be used in project bids for future projects. If you can compare actual costs of traditional materials to costs of eco-friendly materials, you can build competitive estimates that include green materials. 

It may be a gradual process, but technology can help you to transition to using more eco-friendly materials. 

Environmental Benefit No. 4: Software Creates Operational Efficiencies That Make Companies More Eco-Friendly

Optimized operations are a key factor in construction sustainability. The more efficient your processes, the faster projects are completed and the less pollution and waste you create. Technology that automates processes helps trade contractors become more efficient so they can be more productive and less pollutive. 

As Eva Carranza, VP of Sustainability at Hexagon AB, writes: “Our research has found that progressive construction firms, which are defined as using four or more automated systems, are 58 percent more likely to experience sustainability improvements and waste reduction than their moderate counterparts.”

One of those automated tools trade contractors need in their tech stacks as they try to go green is construction project management software. 

Technology makes some of your tasks and processes more efficient by doing the work for you. When those higher levels of efficiency are achieved, your people can spend more time on project-specific tasks that move jobs forward, thereby reducing waste output at the job site. 
To learn more about how construction project management software can support your green construction initiatives, schedule a demo of eSUB Cloud today.

Images used under license from Shutterstock.com.