Emerging from the Global Economic Crisis: Delivering Recovery through a Sustainable Construction Industry

The worldwide economic crisis, starting in the latter half of 2008, has led to concerted efforts by governments worldwide to revive the economic cycle and develop ideas of how best to emerge from the crisis situation. In the wake of the international financial crisis and the ensuing global recession, the construction industry must prepare itself now to address the new economic reality and the sustainability imperative. In many parts of the world, the global recession has hit the construction industry hard. The recovery process may be slow but the aftermath of the recession is creating many new opportunities driven by a sustainability and carbon economy agenda. At the CIB World Congress 2010 Building a Better World, a ‘Global Challenge’ was put forward by the European Construction Technology Platform (ECTP) with the European Commission. This report represents a response to this challenge of addressing the global economic crisis.