Eliminating Construction Waste As a Pathway to Project Success

Material waste in construction commonly adds up to as much as 30% of procured material and 10% or more of project budget, offering a clear opportunity for optimization. Wasted materials also represent a sizable "forgotten" portion of a building's embodied carbon, infrequently measured or accounted for. This session will start from the premise that material utilization cannot be truly improved in isolation, exploring how the pursuit of more sustainable construction is fundamentally interlinked with other measurable outcomes like quality, schedule, cost, and safety—each worthy of optimization in its own right. Drawing on case studies and backed by Construction Cloud workflows, the presenters will show how the pursuit of more sustainable construction correlates with project success. They will argue that lean construction, which aims to root out waste in all its forms, offers a pathway to triple bottom-line success, combining positive outcomes for people, the planet, and profit.