Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report (Previous Reviewer 2)

Kindly follow the following comments In the abstract line no. 22 correct as developing country and Afghanistan, instead developing and Afghanistan.

Authors not discussed on what about CPWD Green Rating Manual?

 

Author Response

Review 1

Kindly follow the following comments In the abstract line no. 22 correct as developing country and Afghanistan, instead developing and Afghanistan. Authors not discussed on what about CPWD Green Rating Manual?

Response: We really appreciate the points. 1) We added a word 'country' in the abstract 2) page 148-157. The authors would like to add additional paragraph regarding CPWD as suggested. Thank you so much. Those are highlighted as yellow in the revision. Again, thank you so much.

Reviewer 2 Report (Previous Reviewer 1)

The article aims to identify barriers to the implementation of activities in accordance with sustainability in residential and commercial buildings in the United States, India and Afghanistan. On the basis of the contribution, we can state that several findings emerged from the conducted research. In the compared countries, there are different economic, social and environmental differences, as well as the possibilities of implementing measures for sustainable projects. At the same time, the authors point to the fact that this is also due to the high prices of materials, low awareness of the researched issue, and low financial support. The conclusion would require a more detailed justification of measures in individual countries and in relation to economic and social conditions.

Author Response

Reviewer 2

The article aims to identify barriers to the implementation of activities in accordance with sustainability in residential and commercial buildings in the United States, India and Afghanistan. On the basis of the contribution, we can state that several findings emerged from the conducted research. In the compared countries, there are different economic, social and environmental differences, as well as the possibilities of implementing measures for sustainable projects. At the same time, the authors point to the fact that this is also due to the high prices of materials, low awareness of the researched issue, and low financial support. The conclusion would require a more detailed justification of measures in individual countries and in relation to economic and social conditions.

 

Response: The authors appreciate the point. We agree that the conclusion need a more detailed justification of measures in individual countries and in relation to economic and social conditions. The following additional two bullets under conclusion were added in lines 643-657.

• The design which leads to sustainable construction for most cities in Afghanistan can be an effective tool for demonstrating sustainable solutions to both urban and rural communities. The sustainable design strategies are powerful research, education and marketing tool for having sustainable community planning and development. In Kabul, capital city of Afghanistan, there is lack of policies and regulations, low level of capacity of the responsible government entities such as Ministry of Urban Development and Land (MUDL) and Kabul Municipality (KM) and most importantly lack of builders’ awareness about the long term benefits of sustainable construction [30].
• The rapid urbanization, globalization and expanding economy are some of the challenges the construction industry is facing in India which result socio-economic challenges and an increase in consumption of building materials such as glass, cement, metals and ceramic. Using these materials in an unsustainable way causes environmental degradation. The great way to avoid such impacts on social life and economy is to have sustainable buildings which use minimum energy and can help minimize the energy crisis in the country.

This manuscript is a resubmission of an earlier submission. The following is a list of the peer review reports and author responses from that submission.

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

In the post, the authors added a survey about Afghanistan. The post is unchanged. In part 3. Results and Discussion, the answers to the survey questions are not processed. The conclusion is not in the context of the topic of the post.

Author Response

Responses to the Reviewers’ Comments

Reviewer 1

The following minor corrections in the manuscript need to be addressed.

(1) Page 2 line 58-59- Reference 5 should come in the beginning of the paragraph.

Response: Thank you. The authors moved the sentence to earlier in the paragraph as the reviewer recommended. The reference number is changed to [4] from [5].

Modified. (Page 2, Lines 53-55)

In the late 1960s the construction industry began to explore ecological approaches to construction, aiming to seek harmony with nature [4]. The concept of sustainability first evolved in the 1970s, during the oil crisis.

 

(2) Page 3 - In India other rating systems such as ECBC, CPWD, IGBC are also existed, which need to be incorporated in the manuscript. 

Response: This is absolutely right. The authors really appreciate it. The authors would like to add more rating systems available in India and added them appropriately with corresponding references.

Added. (Page 4, Lines 139-153)

The Central Public Works Department of India (CPWD) is a premier Central Government authority in charge of public sector works in India. All CPWD constructions in India follow the GRIHA rating system.

There are more green and energy rating systems in India. The Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) was developed in India for new commercial buildings in 2007 and the code pursues minimum energy standards for commercial buildings having a connected load of 100 kW [25]. In 2001, the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) as part of the CII was established to achieve a sustainable built environment and facilitate India to be a global leader in the sustainable built environment by 2025. The council provides services in new green building rating, certification, and green building training [26]. BEE Star Label is a program run by the Indian government's Bureau of Energy Efficiency under Ministry of Power that promotes energy efficiency. The program provides information on the energy consumption of products and devices using different standardized methods [27].

 

(3) Page 17 Line 588- correct spelling as INDIA

Response: Thank you. The authors fixed the spelling. We also checked the entire pages for spelling.

Modified. (Page 18, Line 601)

 (represented by India)

 

(4) Reference 1 can be modified with the recent publication.

Response: Thank you so much. The authors updated the most recent report in regards to the content mentioned in the paper.

Modified. (Reference)

1. Planetary Action: Climate, Nature, Chemical & Pollution. UNEP SBCI Buildings and Climate Change report 2021.

(5) The research is more so commented on the LEED rating system, one paragraph in the discussion should be added on other rating systems.  

Response: Thank you so much. We all agree to the comment. The authors added other rating system in the body of the paper.

Added. (Page 4, Lines 139-153)

The Central Public Works Department of India (CPWD) is a premier Central Government authority in charge of public sector works in India. All CPWD constructions in India follow the GRIHA rating system.

There are more green and energy rating systems in India. The Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) was developed in India for new commercial buildings in 2007 and the code pursues minimum energy standards for commercial buildings having a connected load of 100 kW [‎25]. In 2001, the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) as part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) was established to achieve a sustainable built environment and facilitate India to be a global leader in the sustainable built environment by 2025. The council provides services in new green building rating, certification, and green building training [‎26]. BEE Star Label is a program run by the Indian government's Bureau of Energy Efficiency under Ministry of Power that promotes energy efficiency. The program provides information on the energy consumption of products and devices using different standardized methods [‎27].

Added. (Page 17, Lines 583-588)

Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) is another rating system widely used in India in construction sectors. This rating system is endorsed by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) of Indian government. This rating system evaluates the performance of building over the life of the project, covering all phases of a construction project, such as pre-construction, building design, construction and post-construction [‎55]

(6) Page 18-second point in conclusion starts with It has been observed..., the conclusion should not discuss on observations.., should give strong points.

Response: Thanks for the point. We agree with the reviewer that our expression is inappropriate. The authors would like to delete that and changed as follows:

Modified (Page 18, Line 656)

The respondents from the United States have a higher awareness of sustainable construction concepts due to the frequent availability of training and seminar opportunities.

 

You can find the updated version in the attached. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

The following minor corrections in the manuscript need to be addressed.

Page 2 line 58-59- Reference 5 should come in the beginning of the paragraph.

 

Page 3 - In India other rating systems such as  ECBC, CPWD, IGBC are also existed, which need to be incorporated in the manuscript. 

 

Page 17 Line 588- correct spelling as INDIA

Reference 1 can be modified with the recent publication.

The research is more so commented on the LEED rating system, one paragraph in the discussion should be added on other rating systems.  

Page 18-second point in conclusion starts with It has been observed..., the conclusion should not discuss on observations.., should give strong points.  

 

 

Author Response

Responses to the Reviewers’ Comments

Reviewer 2

 

(1) In the post, the authors added a survey about Afghanistan. The post is unchanged. In part 3. Results and Discussion, the answers to the survey questions are not processed. The conclusion is not in the context of the topic of the post.

 

Response: Thank you so much for your comments. We really appreciate it. Yes the authors extended the survey to Afghanistan as an undeveloped country. We believe the authors mentioned this thru the entire paper including Results and Discussion Sections (see attached highlighted with Yellow). The responses for the survey questions are introduced in Section 3 using Figures and Tables. Based on the survey results and other former studies, the conclusions were made as shown below. I would like to attach a newer version of the paper. The authors will be so glad if the reviewer points out and addresses further comments, then we will respond accordingly again.

 

5. Conclusions

   Sustainable construction and development is a complex system engineering problem that merges with technical, political, social and economic aspects. The objective of this survey was to identify and compare the barriers construction industry experiencing in the implementation of sustainable projects in developed countries (represented by the United States), developing countries (represented by India) and an undeveloped countries (represented by Afghanistan). To accomplish the objective, the questionnaire was distributed to professionals of construction industries in USA, India and Afghanistan. Several conclusions emerge and can be drawn from the analysis of this research as follows:

• The survey's results illustrate the need for new legislation, rules, and standards in all three selected countries in order to achieve sustainability and environmental protection. Governments might provide some economic incentives for employing local resources in adopting rules and guidelines to support sustainable practices.
• The respondents from the United States have a higher awareness of sustainable construction concepts due to the frequent availability of training and seminar opportunities. Whilst raising understanding and awareness of sustainable applications in developed, developing and undeveloped nations could have a significant impact on the use of sustainable construction principles on a larger scale, particularly among stakeholders in the construction sector. This could be accomplished by implementing appropriate guidelines, methods, or approaches that are based on earlier industry research and are more practical and effective. Organizing more talks, seminars, trainings, and workshops, as well as instructing small and medium-sized stakeholders and developers to improve their awareness and understanding.
• Greater effort is required to raise the level of awareness and clients’ interest in order to accelerate the growth, adoption and implementation of sustainability concepts in developing and undeveloped countries. The main responsibility lies on the government to encourage the implementation and adopt the concept of sustainable construction. This can be done by making steps to increase social awareness by trainings, advertising and making rules and legislations guiding sustainable construction.

         This necessitates a review of the current roadblocks and the need to overcome them in order for the construction industry to smoothly transition to and implement the new regulations.

 

You can find the updated version of the paper in the attached. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The submitted contribution has already been evaluated (July 2022)