Challenges of Sustainable Buildings in Nigeria: Way Forward

The world has gradually moved from conventional buildings to more sustainable ones that promote greater energy efficiency and less environmental impact. However, while the developed countries have steadily embraced the concept of sustainability in their buildings, Nigeria, like most of the SubSaharan African countries, is still grappling with traditional building architecture and designs. As a result, the Green Building Council of Nigeria (GBCN) was established to control, monitor and promote the adoption of green buildings. Unfortunately, the rate of adoption has been slow, as there are few or no green buildings in Nigeria. Previous empirical analyses reveal three (3) competing elements at the berk of current challenges: limited awareness, poverty (lack of or insufficient fund to execute the projects) and lack of motivation. Therefore, the aim of this study is not only to evaluate the challenges of sustainable buildings (green buildings) in Nigeria but to device initiatives and strategies to ameliorate sustainability into building development practices in Nigeria. To achieve this, past research studies and interviews were conducted on some students from higher institutions, professionals in built environment and some members of the general public. Findings reveal that lack of awareness and finance to going green are Nigeria’s twin main challenges of sustainability. Additionally, results also show the failure of the government to adopt green building practices fully because of social and cultural reasons and the lack of government legislation and incentives that would encourage developers to incorporate green building features into their construction projects and lastly, limited technical expertise. The study recommends that as “introduction to green buildings” has been introduced in the university curriculum, same should be done for other institutions of higher learning, educational institutions and sustainable building expertise (Green Buildings Council of Nigeria) should be ready to sensitize the professionals, real estate investors and the general public on the benefits of sustainable buildings (green buildings) by organizing conferences, outreaches, and workshops. Furthermore, the government needs to play active role in supporting and incentivizing green building projects by introducing policies, regulations, and financial incentives that encourage the adoption of sustainable building Keywords: Green buildings, sustainable buildings, challenges, strategies, Nigeria