Umberto Berardi
Politecnico di Bari
Organizational changes for the construction of green buildings: An investigation of Italian case studies
Umberto Berardi took a degree in Building Engineering "summa cum laude" at the Politecnico di Bari in 2008. He received a MSc from the University of Southampton (UK) in 2009, and since the same year he is a PhD student in "Product Development & Innovation Management" at the Scuola Interpolitencica in the Politecnico di Bari. He had research experiences in the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Syracuse (US) and at the International Centre for Integrated assessment and Sustainable development (ICIS) of the University of Maastricht (NL), where he is actually a visiting researcher. He is collaborating with the UNEP-SBCI, for which he is writing the "The State of Play Report of Green Buildings in Italy". His studies are focused on organizational changes necessary for a sustainability transition of complex sectors and firm networks. In particular, his studies are focused on socio-technical changes in the construction sector when firms realize green buildings.
Organizational changes for the construction of green buildings: An investigation of Italian case studies
International policies indicate the building sector as one of the most promising for sustainable development. According to IPCC, it has the greatest and cheapest potential for delivering significant GHG emission reduction. However, first experiences of sustainable constructions have shown that a socio-technical transition is required. Consequently, the study of organizational aspects among firms involved in constructions represent an urgent research theme. The research investigates how firm relationships are changing as the sector moves towards green buildings. The organizational model among firms is described by the co-makership with suppliers, the specialization degree of firms and their sustainability qualification. These features have been analyzed in case studies collecting data through interviews. The research compares organizational aspects in firms that realize traditional and green buildings. Results suggest that green buildings are obtained through higher co-makership with suppliers and by firms with focused portfolio on sustainable projects. Finally, qualification lightly improves the capacity to realize green buildings.