Strategies to promote green building technologies adoption in developing countries: The case of Ghana

Abstract

Because of its potential to deal with negative environmental impacts of construction activities and contribute to sustainable development, the adoption of green building technologies (GBTs) has received a high level of global attention in recent times. Accordingly, studies on strategies to promote GBTs adoption have been done around the world, but they are scarce in developing countries such as Ghana. The aim of this study is to identify the important strategies to promote GBTs adoption with reference to the Ghanaian construction market. To this end, this study commenced with a literature review and interviews with industry professionals to identify 15 potential strategies. An empirical questionnaire survey was carried out with 43 professionals with green building experience. The analysis results revealed that “more publicity through media”, “GBTs-related educational and training programs for key stakeholders”, “availability of institutional framework for effective GBTs implementation”, “a strengthened GBTs R&D”, and “financial and further market-based incentives” were the top five strategies to promote the GBTs adoption. Additionally, results comparison indicated that the top strategies to promote GBTs adoption in the developing country of Ghana mostly differ from those in the developed country of the US. Furthermore, factor analysis showed that the underlying strategy groupings were government regulations and standards; incentives and R&D support; awareness and publicity programs; education and information dissemination; and awards and recognition. Theoretically, from a developing country's perspective, this research contributes to the literature on green building by improving understanding of the key strategies to promote GBTs adoption. Practically, this research helps policy makers, industry stakeholders, and advocates formulate and implement proper strategies for GBTs adoption promotion. The directions for future research include to model the interrelationships between the strategies, as well as their likely effects on the GBTs adoption activity.