Abstract
Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) has been an emergent trend in the Norwegian infrastructure sector. However, there has not been much work done to analyze the efficacy of such collaboration on building projects when it comes to promoting sustainability. This study investigates this gap by conducting a longitudinal evaluation of a public building project using empirical data collected through surveys conducted during the development and execution phases. The sustainability goal for the project was to have a drastically reduced energy consumption compared to similar projects. To gain insight into how ECI helped the project reach its sustainability ambitions, this study compares the experiences with ECI as viewed by the project participants. The results show that ECI directly impacted the sustainability objectives by bringing in the necessary competencies and developing innovative solutions. ECI has also helped with sustainability objectives indirectly by improving risk management, enhancing collaboration, and reducing the potential for conflict in the project. Despite the cost of collaboration being a point of contention, the findings show that ECI can be a viable option for sustainable building projects.