DEVELOPMENT OF A SUSTAINABILITY INDEX FOR ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN UGANDA: A LITERATURE-BASED APPROACH
Uganda’s rapid infrastructural growth has heightened the need for sustainable construction practices that align with environmental responsibility and socio-economic equity. Globally, the construction industry is recognized as a major contributor to environmental degradation due to its excessive consumption of energy, natural resources, and the generation of greenhouse gas emissions. In Uganda, the industry remains labour-intensive, inefficient, and associated with high pollution levels, showing the urgency to adopt sustainability-oriented frameworks. However, limited local data and context-specific tools make it difficult to measure and manage sustainability in building projects effectively. This review of literature aimed to support the development of a sustainability index for Uganda’s engineering construction sector. The specific objectives guiding the review included: identifying key sustainability attributes relevant to construction projects, analyzing existing models and indices for measuring sustainability in construction projects, and identifying research gaps within the reviewed literature. A structured literature search was conducted using Scopus and Google Scholar databases, focusing on publications from 2015 onward. The search incorporated terms related to sustainability, the construction industry, indices, and low- and middle-income countries. Scopus was selected for its rigorous journal indexing and peer-reviewed coverage, and Google Scholar expanded the scope to include relevant literature and institutional publications. The analysis of the literature review reveals a lack of localized sustainability assessment tools and the fragmented adoption of sustainable practices across construction phases. The review concludes by highlighting that a contextually relevant sustainability index is crucial for guiding policy, benchmarking, and performance measurement in Uganda’s construction industry. The findings of this study will contribute to the development of sustainability-oriented frameworks for the construction industry in Uganda and other developing countries.
Assessment Tool, Construction Sustainability, Sustainability Attributes, Sustainability Index.