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%0 Thesis %A Sterk, Ellen %T Essays on economic incentives for the implementation of sustainable construction processes and materials %I Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen %V Dissertation %C Aachen %M RWTH-2024-06184 %P 1 Online-Ressource : Illustrationen %D 2024 %Z Veröffentlicht auf dem Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen University %Z Dissertation, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, 2024 %X This dissertation, which consists of four separate essays, deals with economic incentives to foster the adoption of sustainable construction processes and the application of sustainable construction materials. This topic is examined on three analytical levels: the micro, meso, and macro. The first two essays of this thesis are set on the micro level as they examine individual demand decisions. Specifically, they focus on construction clients and their demand for recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) as an alternative to concrete with primary aggregates. The first paper identifies the barriers and drivers to the demand for RAC, the willingness to pay (WTP), and the factors that influence it. The second identifies which economic incentives can effectively drive the demand for RAC. Based on the sustainable construction literature and interviews with experts from the industry, a survey is set up and administered to construction clients in Germany who are divided into private individuals, organizations, and developing companies. The main parts of the survey are a discrete choice experiment and a factorial survey. These are analyzed using nested logit, mixed logit, and linear regression models. The results of the first essay show that information-based barriers are the most prominent, while clients are driven to use RAC by their environmental awareness. All client groups have a positive WTP for recycled aggregates in concrete, but the estimates differ substantially between client groups. Only the WTP of a selective subset of the sample matches the current price premium for RAC. The second essay finds that only a financial grant is effective in all client groups. Still, all other tested incentives (prioritized treatment of the building permit, free technical assistance, public recognition, and information provision) are also effective in at least one group. These essays emphasize that incentives are necessary to stimulate demand for RAC across all construction clients. They should be designed carefully, as the target group and a potential combination of incentives can impact their effectiveness and efficiency. The third essay captures the meso level of analysis, as its object is municipalities and their citizens. It identifies the public’s stance toward sustainable public construction in their municipality in terms of attitude and action. A survey is conducted in four participating municipalities throughout Germany. The same methodology is applied as in the first two essays. The results show that the public attitude toward sustainable construction of public buildings is consistently positive. However, the results regarding the willingness to act in favor of it are more ambiguous. Citizens are willing to contribute financially to increasing sustainability throughout the life cycle of public buildings and would sign a petition for implementing sustainability standards of construction. In contrast, only in about half the cases, they would engage in formats offered by the municipality on the topic (such as discussion rounds or a newsletter). The default effect – the finding that the option presented as the default is chosen significantly more often – shows to be a promising tool for municipalities aiming to foster sustainable construction and increase the public’s acceptance. The fourth essay examines the macro level, focusing on European countries and their policies towards resource efficiency. Specifically, it analyzes whether a resource tax can support the country’s transition towards a Circular Economy (CE). Secondary data is assembled and analyzed using the Augmented Mean Group Estimator to answer this question. The results indicate an overall positive effect of resource taxes on resource productivity, a CE indicator measuring the output a country generates with the resources consumed. However, the country-specific regression results show that the effect differs strongly between countries. Other CE indicators are tested with mixed results: While no effect is found for the circular material use rate or the number of patents related to recycling and secondary materials, resource taxes seem to affect a country’s material footprint and GVA from CE-related activities. Since construction materials account for more than half of the resources extracted and the waste generated in the European Union, the results likely apply to the construction sector. Thereby, the call for a primary construction resource tax, which is prominent especially in Germany, is supported by our results. This dissertation shows that economic incentives can be applied to all levels of society – the individual, the municipality, and the country – to foster resource efficiency in the construction industry. %F PUB:(DE-HGF)11 %9 Dissertation / PhD Thesis %R 10.18154/RWTH-2024-06184 %U https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/record/988448