Identifying and Assessing Sustainability Implementation Barriers for Residential Building Project: A Case of Ghana

Abstract

Sustainable construction practices should be integrated at every stage of the development process for optimum benefit, without compromising the structure’s intended use. Incorporating green building principles into home construction projects requires substantial investments, which may represent a barrier to overcome. When trying to fix a problem in a developing country such as Ghana (where resources are limited), it is important to first focus on eliminating the impediments. Thus, this article will attempt to identify and assess sustainability implementation barriers of residential building projects in Ghana. Consequently, the barriers to sustainability implementation were identified in previous studies. After that, a questionnaire survey was conducted among construction firms in Ghana. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) results showed that the barriers to implementing sustainability could be categorized under four main groups (management, standards, society and knowledge). Additionally, partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to assess the linkages between each categorization barrier and sustainability implementation. The results from PLS-SEM showed that management-related barriers are the most significant barriers affecting substantiality implementation. The findings of this study will serve as a roadmap for policymakers in Ghana’s construction sector as they work to implement sustainability parameters to save costs and improve the environmental ecosystem and social cohesion in residential buildings.