An integrated method for the assessment of social sustainability in public-works procurement

[EN] Today, critical deficiencies hinder the effective inclusion of social criteria in public-works procurement. The primary reasons for this are the lack of information and objective social assessment methods in the construction industry. Hence, this paper proposes a method to assist agencies in including indicators and objective assessments of social sustainability in public-works procurement. This method applies to civil engineering projects in the infrastructure life-cycle construction stage using design-bid-build delivery. Eight social categories and 22 factors are organized into two organizational levels (project and company). Quantitative and semi-quantitative indicators are proposed to assess the social commitment of construction companies in their organizations and projects. Additionally, two aggregation formulas are established as assessment criteria in public-works procurement. The results highlight that the indicators' importance in assessing social commitment in a project can be defined depending on the local context. Moreover, the method to assess corporate social responsibility can also measure and compare a company's performance, regardless of size. The proposed method can be used in procurement procedures, helping public-works procurers develop transparent decision processes.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Valencian Regional Government (Project No. 05TUI/2020/126904) and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, along with the European Regional Development Fund (Project No. BIA2017-85098-R). The authors are grateful to the expert panel for their participation in this research.Montalbán-Domingo, L.; Pellicer, E.; García-Segura, T.; Sanz-Benlloch, A. (2021). An integrated method for the assessment of social sustainability in public-works procurement. Environmental Impact Assessment Review. 89:1-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2021.106581S1158