Harnessing stakeholder motivation: towards a Swiss sustainable building sector

The contribution of stakeholders to the development and implementation of a sustainable built environment has emerged as crucial to the delivery of meaningful change. The inclusion of all affected parties can facilitate the development of patterns, structures and buildings that are sustainable in the social, ecological and economic dimensions. The slow development of a more sustainable building sector often results from the absence of knowledge about possible benefits because of financial constraints or the presence of conflicting interests. Furthermore, in most cases, measures to foster a sustainable building sector do not include all of the relevant stakeholders or are only one-sided. Based on a literature review of stakeholders in the building sector, this paper describes the stakeholders involved in the development of sustainable buildings and the challenges in stakeholder motivation. The practical case of the Network for Sustainable Construction Switzerland demonstrates how to foster sustainable construction by including a wide range of stakeholders and the need to address stakeholders with diverse initiatives. This case study supports the hypothesis that stakeholder motivation cannot be created by a single initiative; rather, a variety of actions are required to deliver change successfully.