*2.2. Means of Implementing Social Integration through BIM for Sustainable Green Building*

In order to address the need to integrate stakeholders in green BIM and to make full use of the socio-technical integration, appropriate guidance and evaluation measures are required. The following lines have reviewed various possible measures to promote social sustainability in the construction industry, as part of an attempt to achieve, through BIM, a sustainable green building project.

The green building assessment tools have been developed with the aim of assisting in the implementation of sustainable development in the construction industry. However, they lack a detailed analysis of the social aspect of sustainable development [23]. Furthermore, BIM integration can provide information to support the calculation of a number of credit points to define goal levels of sustainability associated with green building rating systems [24]. It allows the evaluation of multiple design scenarios simultaneously, environmentally, and financially [25]. However, there is no comprehensive assessment and measurement tool to promote social sustainability through BIM in green building.

In an attempt to promote social sustainability in the construction industry, it has been suggested to use social-network-analysis [26] and apply it to construction—where a project-based organization is prevalent [27]. While identifying the status of the stakeholders within the social network of a project indeed allows an assessment of the social value obtained from it, there is no standard for achieving this value in a green building project. Therefore, the study has used this view to present a normative approach for the application of BIM in green building by SNA. Based on a socio-technical perspective that presents the implementation of BIM as an influencing factor for the project-based organization, and considering the importance of BIM's social application for achieving sustainable green building, this study presents a standard for its application, as well as an SNA measure for its assessment.

In addition, the need to promote sustainable development in the construction industry has led to the development of a framework to assess the performance of the corporate-social-responsibility of the construction corporation [28]. Different indicators should provide guidance for the implementation of social responsibility in the construction industry and allow organizations to build and assess the performance of social responsibility, which, in turn, could assist in achieving sustainable business development. However, it seems that for purposes of presenting CSR indicators, a transparent weight system is required, as well as an examination of stakeholders' interactions [28].

CSR is based on the premise that organizations need to behave in a socially responsible manner [29]. It is also possible to point out the complementarity of CSR and stakeholder theory [30]. This theory recognizes that organizations have commitments not only to shareholders but also to other interest groups, such as customers, employees, suppliers, and the wider community [31,32]. Sustainable development, corporate sustainability, and CSR are closely related to stakeholder relationship management, but at different levels of performance. While sustainable development is a guiding model at the society level, and corporate sustainability is a sustainable development model at the corporate level, CSR is a management approach to business contribution for sustainable development [29]. On this basis and for the purpose of this paper, CSR is defined as a corporate management approach that addresses all stakeholders involved in a construction project in an attempt to realize their sustainable benefits within business processes that include the use of BIM. Mapping of information transfer through BIM may facilitate the examination and evaluation of interactions between the corporate stakeholders. Therefore, this study uses the BIM application to promote sustainable green building while presenting a standard and CSR-based SNA index for its evaluation.

## **3. Formulation and Application of Standard and Index for Social Integration in Green BIM**

## *3.1. Proposed Standard for Social Integration in Green BIM*

In response to the need for social integration to achieve sustainable goals of green BIM, a CSR-based BIM application model is presented. In terms of relevant guidelines for the application of BIM as a social system—the CSR-based model includes elements for achieving social sustainability, which, according to this paper hypothesis, enable effective green building. Social sustainability components include; fairness, which provides equal opportunities for all; awareness, which fosters alternative consumption habits; participation, which relates to the inclusion of as many groups as possible in decision-making; cohesion, which strengthens community integration [33]. In addition, in terms of suitable project delivery conditions, the integrated-project-delivery (IPD) method includes contractual components that reinforce the BIM application model for achieving sustainable green building. IPD is a method that attempts to align interests by a group-based attitude. The main group participants consist of the owner, architect, general contractor, and major consultants. Beyond IPD principles according to industry definitions—including multi-party agreement, early involvement of all parties, and shared risk and reward—a survey has found that 'good leadership is required to encourage a collaborative team environment' [34]. Moreover, the IPD vision includes the involvement of end-users at the beginning of the planning process [35]. This method gains different levels of detail and application [36]. The broad definition refers to many owners, mainly public owners, who are not authorized to enter multi-party agreements and to bring subcontractors into the planning process. However, to take advantage of some of the key benefits of IPD-type delivery, many contractual provisions and project procedures can be modified. These include bringing the construction manager (CM) to the project at the beginning of the process, co-location of the team, and establishing a team decision-making process and structure [37]. The classification of social sustainability components—in the combination of BIM and the interrelations between those involved in a project—mirrors relationships with stakeholders of a responsible construction corporation in terms of CSR interpretation. This enables improved

management of all involved, professionals and non-professionals alike, throughout all phases of the building. The carefully shaped project-based organization can be quantified and evaluated as a basis for comparison in terms of social networks. A social network is based on a set of actors and the relationships between them [38]. With the use of social network theory and social-network-analysis, it is possible to describe and analyze interactions between participants in construction projects [39–43]. Five levels of social sustainability are identified and classified according to CSR for a green building project [44]. These levels are adapted to IPD and are translated into SNA indices [45]. The criteria for this model, with their indices, are becoming a benchmark—The BIM Integrated Application Standard—for evaluating the socio-technical integration and promoting its benefits. Given that standardization is a key enabler for advancing BIM implementation [46], this specific standard is proposed to promote the implementation of BIM's social potential in green building. Standard components, which include (1) stakeholder management—through BIM manager centrality, (2) use of a BIM-based social network, (3) benefits through connecting all stakeholders, (4) and tenants, to the BIM manager, are presented below in describing the benchmark index (A detailed conceptual description is given in Appendix A).

### *3.2. Green BIM Index*

The proposed examination is consistent with the trend in literature to introduce formal and informal institutions that influence a project-based organization [47]. As a result, the use of BIM is presented as another factor shaping this organization. However, unlike the tendency in studies to examine formal institutions, such as project delivery contracts, alongside informal institutions, such as work practices, the proposed examination is in relation to an external reference point. In view of the gap reflected in the BIM guidelines and the various valuation methods, in terms of achieving the sustainable goals of green building, and given the importance of BIM's social integration to achieve them, it is proposed to compare its actual combination with its optimal one; i.e., a standard combination in a given project. This comparison by standard criteria is conducted using the components of the Green BIM Index.

### 3.2.1. Index Components


non-professionals by presenting a ratio between the number of their direct connections to their representative and the optimal number of connections. The ego network cluster index enables the examination of connectivity, in terms of tenants and end-users, through their representatives, from the design phase of the building (Equation (A5) in Appendix B).

5. The ratio by stage (X5). As part of comparing the actual use to the standard, which reflects a project reference, the index enables the application of the criteria to be considered throughout the phases of the building. This examination is based on the calculations of the indices at each phase within a project (Equation (A6) in Appendix B).
