Who cares? Developing a Framework for Social Sustainability in Infrastructure for the Swedish AEC Industry
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Master's Thesis
Master's Thesis
Program
Design and construction project management (MPDCM), MSc
Publicerad
2024
Författare
Bjugård Fagerlund, Lovisa
Wisse, Sean Elliot
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
Although sustainable development is increasingly prioritized and mandated, the social dimension often
remains largely neglected in favour of environmental and economic sustainability. This thesis aims to
develop a better understanding of social sustainability in the Swedish AEC industry and identify the
knowledge gap between corporate strategy and practice. The paper provides practitioners a framework
to enhance their decision-making process to considersocial sustainability in infrastructure development.
Following an extensive literature review to explore the current state of social sustainability
development, discrepancies between the corporate narrative and current practice are identified and
discussed. The results are gathered by studying publicly available reports and guidelines of the
contractor, and through semi-structured interviews with project managers and operations managers. As
a result, relevant criteria to develop social sustainability in infrastructure projects considering the
perspective of the contractor are presented, and the cohesion of strategy and practice are evaluated.
Finally, a framework is presented to guide managers at both the project and organizational levels in
incorporating social sustainability in a holistic manner, thereby improving decision-making towards
sustainable development, and enhancing project outcomes. As such, this thesis aims to support the
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and provide researchers and educators with a
comprehensive study of social sustainability in the AEC field.
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
AEC industry , Social sustainability , Sustainable development , corporate social responsibility