MATEC Web of Conferences 312, 04004 (2020)

https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/202031204004
EPPM2018

Identifying Barriers of Sustainable

Construction: A Nigerian Case Study
Ohiomah Ifije1*, and Clinton Aigbavboa1
1Department of Construction Management & Quantity Surveying, University of Johannesburg,
Johannesburg, 2028, South Africa

Abstract. Sustainable development has become an important part

of the lives and aspect of enterprises operations globally. There is a global
trend to enhance sustainable practices in all sectors and most especially
the construction sectors, this study discusses the factors that best prevent
the implementation of sustainable construction in the Nigeria construction
industry. The study further explores and determines the reliability
of how sustainability should be measured in the Nigeria construction
industry. The study used both primary and secondary data to meet the set
objective. The primary data were gathered through the use of a questionnaire
distributed to construction professionals, contractors and clients. Indicative
findings arising from the study revealed that; Building regulations and
financial incentives are found to be the main drivers of sustainable
construction in Nigeria and Lack of client demand and awareness
and a general perception that adopting sustainable construction is expensive.
The research concluded by recommending that government help with
building policies to help push construction firms towards sustainable
construction and also awareness campaigns should be carried out so that
clients would demand and be aware of the benefits of sustainable
construction

Keywords: sustainability, barriers, construction, Nigeria

1 Introduction
The construction industry is a very important division for sustainable development because
of the impact environmentally and socio-economically. The industry influences in four ways
the socio-economic development [1].
The construction industry builds facilities such as roads, buildings and production facility
amongst others. Due to a high demand in infrastructural development in developing
countries, the contribution of the construction industry to emerging nations is very significant
in terms that it supports the economic, social development which turns to wealth, social
equality and increases living standard [2]. In developing countries, the construction industry

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
MATEC Web of Conferences 312, 04004 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/202031204004
EPPM2018

contributes a high percentage to the Gross Domestic Product than the high-income countries
[2, 3]. Examples of this are seen in Brazil whereby the construction industry contributes 14%
to her economy, while in the European Union it contributes 11% to its GDP [4].
In developing economies which still battle with a high unemployment rate, the
construction industry employs a large number of the unemployed because construction is still
labour-intensive due to low skills and knowledge due to lack of technology. The end products
of construction are spread throughout the country, and it has teamed up to develop private
enterprise and technology transfer to all nationals of the nation [5].
Despite all this positive of the construction industry to the economy, the impact of the
construction industry cannot be ignored and it is of significant importance, for instance, the
construction industry is responsible worldwide for the usage of 40% of total energy
production, 40% of raw materials and 25% of timber; the use of 16% of water, generates 30-
40% of solid waste and 35-40% of CO2 emissions [6, 7, 8]. Hence because of the following
impact on the environment, this has led to calls by industry experts on how to lessen the effect
of the activities of construction on the environment. This call leads to the concept
of sustainable construction which was in line with The Brundtland report [9] on sustainable
development which defines sustainable development as the meeting of the wants of the
present generation short of compromising the ability of the upcoming generations to meet
their wants. Sustainable Construction was defined by Agenda 21 for sustainable construction
in Developing Countries (SCDC) as a complete process to restore and maintain agreement
amongst the built and natural environments and create settlements that sustain human self-
worth and boost economic equity [10]. This description suggests that the early methods, were
associated with technical issues, thus do not guarantee a sustainable development while
economic and social aspects of sustainability were not well thought-out [11, 12]. Technical
problems of sustainability such as efficient use of resources such as energy and water and the
reduction of the environmental effects of materials. Building components and construction
technologies are vital parts of sustainable construction. In developing countries, the degree
of technical issues of sustainability is very low and most at times underdeveloped. Examples
of low and underdeveloped technical issues of sustainability are the aspect of building energy
code which does not exist. Therefore, the success of Sustainable Construction (SC)
in developing countries is thought-provoking not only because their economic and social
conditions may be grim but also because the technical problems are unresolved. The success
of SC may necessitate approaches different among developing countries according to the
development of their individual construction industries and also their specific socio-
economic condition. For this reason, the overall strategy of Agenda 21 came up with
an inclusive strategy for addressing the execution of sustainable construction [10]. Still, there
is a conflict at this juncture. On one hand, construction businesses need to be feasible in all
areas and, on the other hand, research has shown that the notion that sustainable construction
project such as buildings is more expensive than the conventional buildings [13, 14]. Hence
because of this notion from literature, this study is seeking to determine the barriers that make
it difficult for Nigerian construction firms to implement sustainable construction.

2 Literature review
Literature has revealed that the construction industry contributes to the economy
if sustainability is pursued in the areas of sustainability of countries as well as Nigeria.
As a result, the necessity to implement sustainable construction is imperative as “what
we build today will provide the built environment of the future and will influence the ability
of future generations to meet their need”.
Several countries policies on sustainable development are developed along with global
initiatives. Initiatives such as the 1992 Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environmental and

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Development) deliberated on ways of accomplishing sustainable development, setting

Agenda 21 as the action plan. Several developed countries have gone on to develop their
various national sustainable development strategies. In order for developing to be able
to develop their own sustainable development and in turn, sustainable construction strategies
[15] suggested a way for attaining sustainable construction, which encompasses all
stakeholders such as; government, developers, clients, buyers/end users, contractors,
consultants. This route begins with awareness, interest and knowledge of SC. This situation
may reduce the drive of construction firms to promote SC practices. In Nigeria, it has been
found that no empirical data about what drives’ construction businesses in the direction
of sustainable construction.
Sustainable construction cannot be discussed without discussing the impact
of sustainability on construction.

2.1 Impact of sustainability

2.1.1 Environmental impact

Creation of waste; developed nations like the UK have come to estimate that 40% of all UK
waste is generated by the construction industry [16]. Due to this waste, the UK government
estimate that landfill capacity would stay exceeded by 2017 [17]. In order to combat this
issue of landfill, most developed countries have introduced the Landfill Tax and Aggregate
Levy which has aided to minimise waste due to the increased costs related to discarding [18].
But this is not the case with developing countries so, at present, construction waste is almost
left unattended to.
Energy use; in the UK it has been reported that the built environment consumes roughly
50% of the aggregate energy generated; 45% to heat, light and aerate the structures and 5%
to build them. The United Kingdom government is looking to reduce energy by 60% come
2050 [17]. Even with this policy, the Royal Institute of Charted Surveyors (RICS) is of the
belief that the government is not doing enough.
Water use; there has been increased consumption of water in the last 30yrs, this is shown
for instance in the UK it has increased to 70%, which will culminate to 4.1 million
household’s consumption of water by 2016. This is as a result of an increase in populations
and living standards which will have an effect on the supply of water. The worldwide
construction industry is implementing techniques to conserve water in new build projects.
Taking the idea of water efficiency technology such a reduced flow taps, low water flush
toilets. This is done with the idea that an estimated 20% improvement is achieved
in proficiency [17].

2.1.2 Economic impact

The construction sector contributes meaningfully to the GDP of any nation, the construction
industry in the UK contributes about 8% GDP and over 2 million persons in the UK are hired
[5], nearly 20% of most job created is connected to the sector [16, 19] discovered that the
key driver to sustainable construction is the client. The debate concerning the impacts on the
environment has been clearly demonstrated that the penalties of poorly managed construction
instruments can have serious effects on sustainability. In order for this effect to be reduced,
the increasing of client awareness must be taken seriously as it is vital in a bid to deviate from
mainly financial making decision.
Value management concept has been found to deliver a good economic return,
accountability with this positive impact of VM, practitioners of VM have prospects to lessen

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environmental and social change [19]. Construction businesses in order to enhance their
standing amongst stakeholders and seek to attract investment [20].

2.1.3 Social impact

CIRIA [21] noted that the commercial and residential structures designs, as well as the
performance, can affect directly the quality of life, promotion of healthy living and coming
together of the community. Everybody connected with a structure can profit from added
sustainable practices. Walker [22] acknowledged “Stakeholders can offer tangible value,
provide valued response information on how they are affected and can co-operate in delivery
of the output”. Keeping and shires stated that sustainable buildings benefit from lower.

2.1.4 Design impact

The concept of optimum design was better described in the [17] states that optimum design
requires optimized performance on the construction site. Studies have shown that design
plays a major role in achieving sustainability whereby designers’ reputations can be boosted
by adding sustainable designs to their building designs. Despite the fact, they have to work
off the instruction of the client. The designers have a chance to create an impact in the mind
of the client, for instance, capturing the reduced running costs, enhanced corporate image and
the occupant’s wellbeing better off [23]. Architects play a key role as argued by [24].
Published in 1999 by the Architects Registration Board code of conduct, it was detailed that
the responsibility of the architect is to the client, also in consideration to save and improve
the quality of the environment as well as the natural resources.
In practice, constructors are not usually tangled in the design and decisions on how
sustainable a construction project possibly will be, but good practices here can cut costs and
create a green image [25]. This was further backed up by [26] who specified that the choice
of construction materials has noticeable and substantial energy and emission of gas
implications.

3 Methodology
This study adopted a survey method for the gathering of data for this research. The population
includes professionals from the built environment within the built environment in the
Nigerian construction industry; specifically, in the South-West region.
The study adopted a close-ended questionnaire founded on existing knowledge from
literature. The questionnaire was designed to explore the barriers to the implementation
of sustainable construction practices. The circulation of questionnaires to respondents was
through mainly the google forms sent via email.
The background of the respondents was surveyed in the first section of the questionnaire,
while the second portion explored the barriers to sustainable construction implementation
amongst the identified construction professionals. A 5-point Likert scale was used to examine
based on the level of agreement. The rating was as follows: 1=Strongly disagree; 2=Disagree;
3=Neutral; 4=Agree; 5=Strongly agree. Mean item score (MIS) and standard deviation (SD)
were afterwards calculated for each of the variables and the values were used in ranking and
determining their position

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4 Findings
The table below shows the barriers which impede the implementation of Sustainable
Construction in Nigeria.

Table 1. Barriers of Sustainable Construction

Barriers of Sustainable Construction Standard MIS Ranking

Deviation
Lack of customer awareness 6.00 4.00 1
Additional building Costs 6.50 4.00 1
No understanding of the benefits of sustainable 6.70 3.90 2
construction
Misconception of Construction cost overrun 5.30 3.80 3
Lack of coordination cost overrun 5.20 3.70 4
Lack of public awareness 5.60 3.70 4
Deployment of resources to back technological changes 5.80 3.70 4
Initializing sustainability due to lack of building 3.70 3.70 4
regulations

The table showed the variables and how they are the respondents perceived the barriers, the
study hereby revealed that Lack of customer awareness (SD = 6.00, MIS = 4.00, R = 1),
in addition, building costs (SD = 6.50, MIS = 4.00, R = 1) was ranked the highest as the
highest barriers perceived by the professionals sampled, closely followed
by No understanding on the benefits of sustainable construction (SD = 6.70, MIS = 3.90,
R=2) amongst others were the construction professional’s view on the barriers facing the
construction industry in Nigeria hindering the implementation of sustainable construction.
These view by professionals’ in the Nigerian industry is not only peculiar, but this barrier
is also shared by several studies carried out across different countries that found that
affordability, lack of customer awareness and demand was the three highest-ranking barriers
of sustainable construction in the United Kingdom. It was further corroborated by Zhou and
Lowe [27] who pointed out that sustainable construction is expensive, causing a major
challenge in the embracing of sustainable construction practices in emerging nations like
Nigeria. Furthermore, the finding also corresponds with the study carried out by the Agenda
21 for Sustainable Construction in Developing Countries [10], where it was revealed that the
problems of sustainable construction range from deployment of resources to back
technological changes.

5 Conclusions and recommendations

This research reports the barriers hampering the implementation of sustainable construction
practices in the Nigerian construction industry. The information used in this investigation
were obtained from both primary and secondary sources. The secondary data which
is literature show that the construction sector is an important contributor to the pollution
worldwide which have an effect on the ecosystem in numerous ways. On the other hand,

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the focal test for the sector is to play an important part in the reduction of the impacts
of construction happenings on the environment. Collected works also exposed that the
construction industry will play an important role in achieving the society’s sustainable goals
but the way to achieve sustainability is a process which is proving difficult.
Results from the empirical survey showed there is a discrepancy of views on achievement
practices of sustainable construction implementation in the sector such as Lack of customer
awareness being the highest rank, followed by the additional building cost ranked as next to
the implementation of sustainable construction. Similarly, the professionals additionally saw
sustainable construction activities as an additional cost to the ever-increasing ways
of construction practices in terms of purchasing new machinery and training of staff which
is true as this thought could lead to not implementing SC.
It is of importance that construction professionals in the Nigerian construction industry
must seek to overcome the barriers that hinder the implementation of sustainable
construction. As the long-term benefits from the implementation outweigh the present
practices. it is of importance that awareness of sustainable construction must be carried out
amongst the professionals, clients as this will help in the drive for the implementation of SC.
Lastly; it is the responsibility of construction professionals involved with sustainable
construction processes to enlighten the clients on the benefits of SC.
This study has shown that there has to be an increase in awareness for the embracing
of sustainable construction practices, hence it is recommended that government and non-
government agencies must help in the increase of the awareness of sustainable construction
practices. Henceforth, it is also suggested that more enforced approaches and actions must
be pursued aggressively to hasten up the method in forming a sustainable-driven construction
industry, which is principal to building a sustainable future.

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