Can ISO 14000 and eco-labelling turn the construction industry green?

A growing awareness of the impact of buildings on the environment has created a greater need to take account of environmental factors. To address this effectively. the environmental impact of a building has to be a primary consideration of the design learn. Two approaches are available to the design team to provide clients with assurance that ecological design principles are carried through to construction. These are the comparatively new international environmental management systems standard, ISO 14001. and the slightly older approach of eco-labelling. The two approaches are different but aim at the same goal. This paper explores to what extent these two approaches can achieve their aim of sustainability with the construction industry and questions whether some of the wider issues of sustainability has been ignored. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.