FIRM CHARACTERISTICS AND CRITICAL FACTORS INFLUENCING GREEN BUILDING ADOPTION: INSIGHTS FROM BUILT ENVIRONMENT PROFESSIONALS IN LAGOS, NIGERIA

Abstract

Green building is increasingly recognised in Nigeria as a strategic approach to achieving sustainable development across environmental, economic, and social dimensions within the construction industry. The integration of Green Building (GB) is fundamental to the realisation of green buildings. However, for GB to be successfully adopted and widely applied across the Nigerian built environment, it is crucial to understand the underlying factors that influence their uptake, especially from the perspective of key professionals such as architects, engineers, builders and quantity surveyors. This study's main objective is to investigate the relationship between the establishment year of firms and the Distribution of working experience among the built environment professionals (BEPs). A total of 312 valid responses were analysed using SPSS and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) techniques to examine the relationships between various influencing variables and the BEPs’ adoption behaviour. The findings reveal that factors such as BEPs’ motivation towards green building, the technical capabilities of the available green technologies, the BEPs’ knowledge base, and perceived shortcomings or limitations of the technologies significantly influence adoption decisions. Interestingly, organisational support and managerial encouragement were found to have no substantial impact on the willingness of BEPs to adopt GB. These insights offer practical implications for improving GB adoption within firms and promoting sustainable construction practices across Nigeria. The study contributes to the growing body of green building research by introducing a quantitative, theory-driven approach suited to the local context. It also serves as a basis for future research that may extend the scope of analysis to include other built environment professionals and the internal dynamics of Nigerian BEPs’ organisations.