Harinarain, Nishani and Babalola, Ayotunde (2026) Constraining sustainability: A critical examination of construction policy and practice in Nigeria. Journal of Construction Business and Management, 8(S1), pp. 111-124. ISSN 2521-0165
Abstract
This paper examines the policy-related challenges faced by stakeholders in promoting sustainable construction practices within Nigeria's construction sector. The research objective was pursued through a comprehensive literature review and semi-structured interviews with eleven built environment professionals based in Lagos and Abuja. Using NVivo 14, a thematic analysis was conducted, yielding seven key themes. Among these, the most significant were the weak enforcement of the Nigerian building code, limited public and professional awareness of sustainable construction, and insufficient municipal capacity to support implementation at the local government level. The findings underscore the need for stronger regulatory frameworks, clearer enforcement mechanisms, and a coordinated awareness strategy to support policy adoption and compliance. The study also highlights the need for active political will, alongside stakeholder collaboration, to ensure policy continuity and mitigate the effects of changing government administrations. Government agencies, policymakers, and industry professionals must therefore collaborate more strategically to drive innovation and strengthen policy adaptation mechanisms. Overall, this study advances knowledge of sustainable construction policy in developing economies by presenting practitioner-based evidence on Nigeria's specific challenges in policy implementation and political will, from the perspective of senior construction industry professionals.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | building code, Nigeria, policy implementation, professionals, stakeholders, sustainable construction |
| Index terms: | policy implementation, construction industry, implementation, evidence, strategy, collaboration, interview, sustainable construction practice, Nigeria, compliance, construction sector, sustainable construction, local government, Abuja, building code, practitioner, thematic analysis, Lagos, literature review, developing economy, government agency, enforcement, adaptation, built environment |
| Subjects: | user focus, methods and analysis, sustainable construction, policy studies, economic development, management, health safety and environment, industry analysis, regulatory law, data analysis and analytics, administrative law, infrastructure and transport systems, Geography, data collection methods, evaluation and assessment methods, contractual arrangements, practitioner |
| Topics: | Roles and Professions, Legal Issues, International Construction, Business Strategy, Geographical Context, Sustainability, Governance, Organizational Design, Urban Studies, Research Practice, Design Practice, Health and Safety, Procurement |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here