Economic sustainability of green building practices in least developed countries

Abstract

Green Building Practices (GBPs) are gradually receiving worldwide recognition and uptake. It is argued that facilities built according to the GBPs, called green buildings are not only environmentally friendly, but also, economically more productive than other comparable ordinary ones. In the latter regard thus, green buildings’ periodical rental premiums, finished property values and energy efficiencies, amongst others, are higher. Much as these studies fare well in portraying GBPs as being environmentally sustainable, very little research has been undertaken to ascertain their economic sustainability especially in the context of Least Developed Countries (LDCs). This paper explores the latter, going through the perspectives of public awareness and access to construction finance, political will, construction industry sizes to green building materials’ sources and argues that GBPs may not be economically sustainable in the LDCs. Key words: Green building practices, economic sustainability, climate change, environmental pollution, least developed countries.