Barriers to sustainable construction practices in the Zambian construction industry

Construction activities have been established to be posing a great danger to the environment. In a bid to curtail these negative happenings the call for sustainability in construction has become popular. Construction industries around the world are advised to build in a manner in which no harm is done to the environment, and the future generation can have enough to cater for their own needs. However, sustainable construction (SC) practices adoption, has been observed to be low in most developing countries. It is based on this knowing that this study assessed the barriers to SC practices within the Zambian Construction Industry (ZCI). The study adopted a survey approach and construction professionals within the ZCI were sampled using the questionnaire as a research instrument. Descriptive statistics tools were employed in analyzing the gathered data. Findings revealed that the major barriers to SC practices in ZCI are; fear of higher investment costs, no local green certification available, lack of government policies or support, and lack of financial incentives. Therefore educating construction clients and other stakeholders on the overall life-cycle cost benefit of SC is deemed necessary.