2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The construction industry is crucial for driving economic growth, advancing social development, and protecting the environment of communities globally. As such, it plays a key role in sustainable development. However, the environmental footprint of the built environment is significant, accounting for 40 percent of global energy consumption and 33 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Natural disasters further exacerbate this impact by causing widespread destruction, resulting in material waste, increased resource consumption, and emissions during reconstruction. As such, achieving environmental improvement and promoting sustainable construction practices, including circular construction and life-cycle assessments (LCAs), is critical for reducing the industry’s environmental footprint and fostering a more responsible built environment. To achieve sustainability goals in the construction industry, it is essential to equip the future construction workforce with knowledge and skills related to sustainable construction practices. The goals of this study are to (1) understand the impact of natural disasters on communities, including damages and recovery efforts, and explore the potential of implementing sustainable practices, such as circular construction, in post-disaster recovery by interviewing 109 stakeholders in disaster-prone communities; and (2) investigate the knowledge gap among civil engineering (CE) and construction management (CM) students regarding sustainable construction practices, as well as the significance of integrating sustainable topics into CE and CM curricula through 121 student surveys. The results of this study underscore the benefits of incorporating sustainability in post-disaster recovery. Furthermore, they highlight the knowledge gap among CE and CM students regarding sustainable practices, including circular construction, as well as the benefits of equipping the future construction workforce with such knowledge and skills to enhance both professional success and tackle environmental challenges. The findings of this study contribute to the field of sustainable construction by advocating for curriculum revisions that integrate sustainable practices. By preparing the future construction workforce to adopt sustainable practices and focusing on their implementation in post-disaster recovery, this study addresses key sustainable development goals (SDGs) and supports efforts to create a more responsible built environment. Furthermore, these efforts benefit communities and stakeholders by fostering sustainable reconstruction that not only reduces environmental impact but also has the potential to reduce the cost of reconstruction.