Tristano Sainati

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 211 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2024.115288

Journal of Management in Engineering 41(1) p. 1-14 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1061/JMENEA.MEENG-6095

The growing importance of social sustainability fosters firms to communicate their social impact, e.g., through environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting. Unfortunately, firms’ actions are often not consistent with their communication. When action and communication on social sustainability are incongruent, social washing emerges. This paper aims to provide an exploratory analysis, based on multiple case studies, to investigate the dimensions and practices of social washing in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) firms. The results reveal that the main social washing practices in AEC are misleading assessment of impacts, cherry-picking, inadequate or absent involvement of the local community, and concealment of modern slavery. We propose a framework for operationalizing the analysis of social washing practices in AEC firms. Finally, we provide an overview of the dimensions and practices of social washing, laying the groundwork for future studies on the topic

Project Leadership and Society (PLS) 5 p. 1-5 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plas.2024.100154

While legal topics have been acknowledged by project management academics, scholarly engagement between project management and the law needs to be further developed. This paper examines the intersection of law and project management addressing the growing complexity and multifaceted nature of contemporary projects and their impacts on society. It starts by reviewing previous project management research that has considered legal themes, such as contracts, delivery, disputes, governance, procurement and compliance. Subsequently, the importance of the context of the project is also briefly considered, with a recognition of its influence on the nature and resolution of legal disputes within projects and emerging themes. Then the legal foundation of projects is explored and the concept of legal projects and portfolios is proposed. The paper concludes by inviting the interdisciplinary research community to establish a new line of inquiry that explores the legal dimensions of project management and how project management can influence the legal profession and research.

Journal of construction engineering and management 150(10) p. 1-13 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1061/JCEMD4.COENG-14653

Modern slavery is an illegal and unethical phenomenon affecting more than 40 million victims worldwide, with many of them employed in construction. This article aims to investigate why modern slavery continues to exist on construction sites managed by companies that have pledged to fight it. Primary data were collected using semistructured interviews with 22 experts working in construction companies in three organization for economic co-operation and development (OECD) countries (UK, Australia, and Switzerland) and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. The construction companies were the unit of analysis, and their managers were the primary source of information. The results present the mechanisms that explain the difference between the official antimodern slavery statements of construction companies and the empirical observations on construction sites. The primary mechanisms are a lack of awareness, training, response, and responsibility, as well as alternative priorities. The results further show the role and importance of reporting cases of modern slavery in addressing it. The risk areas of modern slavery in construction projects, which include the lower tiers of subcontracting and the supply chains of construction materials, are identified. Furthermore, the article discusses the reasons behind the trivialization of modern slavery in construction companies: the presence of alternative priorities, the fear of reputational damage, blame-shifting, and minimizing the problem. Finally, we propose recommendations for construction companies and managers to help address modern slavery and offer areas for future research. This article presents two key novel contributions. First, we discovered a disconnection between construction companies’ official antimodern slavery statements and the reality on construction sites. Second, we identified the reasons behind this disconnection.

Construction Management and Economics 42(5) Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2023.2269434

Modern slavery is an illegal and unethical practice that is widespread across several sectors, including construction. This article investigates the mechanisms and motivations for employing modern slaves in construction projects and the role of “political will” in fighting it. To this end, using a cross-sectional single case study, the article examines the case of Qatar’s construction of the infrastructure for the 2022 FIFA World Cup—a large construction program in which modern slavery has been extensively documented. Our theoretical lens is the Fraud Triangle Theory (opportunity, pressure, and rationalization), which is rarely used in construction management but is useful for investigating illegal or unethical phenomena. The findings document the various factors contributing to modern slavery, including the kafala system, confiscated passports, debt bondage, contract substitution, salary abuse, program time constraints, cash flow shortage, and weak internal control systems. This article’s key novel theoretical contributions relate to identifying why modern slavery occurs in construction projects using the Fraud Triangle Theory and highlighting the importance of “political will” in fighting modern slavery worldwide.