Sustainability: Actuality and necessity in the construction sector in Colombia

The construction industry, a part of being essential to achieve the society development, is also one of the main generators of solid waste and pollution, and it is also responsible for a great part of the landscape transformation and the energy usage. These are enough reasons for the industry not to be indifferent to the actual environmental problematic. This paper, which is intended for academic and professional community generally, presents a diagnosis about the current state of construction in Colombia regarding the environmental impact that it generates. To this end, it exposes the Colombian construction industry framed-related to its environmental impact, and documents, chronologically, the practices and strategies that have been used to reduce the negative impact on the environment throughout the time until nowadays. Finally, this document presents a survey result applied to a representative sample of constructive firms of the Valle de Aburra, Antioquia, where several aspects, regarding the concept of sustainable building and the environmental actions that the firm carries out, were inquired.