Awareness and Practice of Green Construction
Chapter One
Objective of the Study
- Assess the green practices undertaken at Lagos development construction site.
- Evaluate challenges in implementing environmental practices at Lagos construction site.
- Examine challenges towards compliance to statutes, rules and regulations in environmental practices.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Green Practices at Construction Sites
Construction is one of the main contributor to economic growth as such the construction sector should be viable economically as well as in social and environmental aspects (Hassan, 2012).Globally, the construction industry contributes to global warming through emission of for about 23% of greenhouse gases and dust particles into the atmosphere (Huang et al., 2018). Over extraction of about 50% of all-natural resources used for construction, and production of about 50% of all solid waste leads to environmental degradation (Probert et al., 2010). This rate of degradation has so far encouraged creation of environmental awareness in an effort to shift towards sustainable construction (Tam et al., 2006; Ding, 2008).
A considerable number of studies both at global and regional scale have been used to establish the environmentally sustainability practices. This study borrowed from Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (2009). The methodology (Figure 1) provides themes or criteria that construction sites should adhere to in order to attain sustainable environment.
Natural Resource Management
Successful implementation of construction works depends on the quality of work as well as well as the availability of resources, Lamet et al., (2009). The resources include but not limited to raw materials, water, energy and soil. The current state of the global environmental condition evidenced by degradation of ecosystem because of increasing extraction and consumption of natural resources beyond the rate of replenishment (Pearson, 2009).
Water Use and Conservation
Water is very crucial in the construction industry as it is used in almost all processes of construction (Waylenn C. at all. 2011). Some of the processes include but not limited to domestic use such as consumption by construction workers, general site activities like cleaning of tools and plant equipment, mixing of construction material such as cement, sand and gravel, groundwork‟s, including drilling, sprinkling water to reduce dust, developing of boreholes (Waylenn, at all. 2011).
In consideration of all the processes that require water in construction it is therefore paramount to conserve and use it efficiently. Waylennat all. (2011), gives the hierarchy that should be followed. First option entails elimination of water wastage on site, second option is the improvement of efficiency of water use, and lastly the practice of harvesting rain water.
Waylenn`s report is supported by the Chinese University of Hongkong, 2013 that state that water usage at the construction sites should be conserved and water leakage should be avoided. The University further prescribes other measures of conserving water and includes recycling of treated water for non-portable uses. The University also supports the idea of harvesting rain water and directing storm water to water channels to avoid destroying habitats that may also water increase pollutants (Burger, 2016).
Wastewater produced at construction sites should be well managed to prevent groundwater contamination and natural waterways pollution (Kim et al., 2005; Netregs, 2012). Among the management measures include but not limited to directing effluent to siltation facilities like U-channels and obtaining valid licenses for every discharge points for effluent draining to public drains. Any muddy water should be sedimented to remove mud before discharge and the discharge should adhere to regulations conditions. Treated wastewater can be reused for dust suppression where possible. Other measures of managing sewerage such as using septic tanks should also be employed.
Waste and Emission Management
In any construction process it is guaranteed output of solid waste. The efficient management of this waste is vital to avoid soil and water pollution. Chinese University of Hong Kong 2013 provides a solid waste management plan as follows: That construction wastes should be segregated at source and licensed waste collector should be engaged to dispose of waste. Also where practical, useful waste should be re- used or recycled. The
waste management plan further give guidelines as to how asbestos waste should be handled and handled by licensed waste collector.
According to (Gangolellset al., 2014), proper planning and management can go a long way in minimizing generation of waste throughout the construction process. The waste can potentially be recycled.
Chinese University of Hong Kong 2013 states that all chemicals and chemical wastes should be handled with care and information on the chemicals should be easily available. Chemical wastes should be stored separately with clear signage and should be collected by licensed chemical waste collector for proper disposal.
Other than solid and waste water from construction sites, noise emanating from construction sites can also cause annoyances (Abdul-Rahman et al., 2016). As a mitigation measure, Abdul-Rahman et al., 2016 advises there be frequent servicing of machinery and rescheduling of construction activities prescribed time. This is meant to ensure minimal disturbance to the community living adjacent the construction sites. For instance (EMCA, 2009) prohibits emissions higher than the stipulated levels to avoid annoyance to the general public.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
Research design is a guide that assist the researcher in the various stages of research in order to come up with solutions to problems (McLaughlin, 2012). This research is a descriptive research, which seeks to establish the green practices at a construction site as well as establish the challenges towards compliance and non- compliance to rules and regulations in environmental practices. Bernard, 2012, recommends descriptive research because the researcher is able to observe and describe the behavior of a subject without affecting them. This study adopted a case-study approach to ascertain green practices amongst Lagos construction workers. Use of case-study allowed data to be collected in a natural setting and context (Bernard, 2012). The case study methods, also enabled the researcher go beyond the quantitative statistical results and understand the behavioral conditions through the worker`s perspective (Zainal, 2007). The designs also facilitated the use of a questionnaire to collect both quantitative and qualitative data for the study. Key informants also provided material crucial to data interpretation.
This study targeted workers working with the following sub-contractors: Internal roads, electrical, telecommunication, water supply, wastewater drainage, landscaping and fencing.
Population and Sample
Target Population
Target population was made of four groups of stakeholders in the Lagos Construction site in Lagos State. The population comprised of 4 Lagos Project Management staff, 366workers to Lagos Project, 9 government agencies and professional bodies, and 48 households in the neighborhood community. The distribution of the target population is shown in Table 1.
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Reliability Results
Cronbach‟s Alpha test evaluated the reliability of the data collection instruments and the constructs that were measured. As shown in Table 6, the Cronbach‟s alpha value of the various questions representing the research objectives in the questionnaire were above the threshold value of 0.7.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Summary of findings
The first objective was to establish green practices that were undertaken at Lagos construction site. On the issue of natural resource extraction, it was found that Lagos Project did not take sufficient steps to reduce natural resources extraction. It was also revealed that there was insufficient water use and conservation system in place as there was no water management system designed to maximize on sustainable water use and conservation. Waste minimization was another key issue that the researcher sought to find out. The results revealed that employees at the project were not adequately equipped with skills on waste management. Lagos workers had not been trained on reductions management strategies as well. Findings on well-being of the workers and the general society health and safety indicated that the Lagos Project did not actively implement actions to reduce rates of injury, occupational diseases, and work related fatalities among its workers. This could also be the reason why a substantial number of members of the public did not relate well with the project. The project was therefore deemed as not having implemented any action to protect its workers from occupational risks. Overall, it was revealed that Lagos project was not designed to promote green as it was also established that it did not have a designed and actively implemented green criteria. Communication on green message to its stakeholders including employees, investors, regulators, neighborhood community, and other green interest groups was also deemed to be poor. This goes further to show that Lagos Project was not designed to contribute significantly to fighting climate change.
The second objective of this study was to determine challenges in implementing sound environmental practices at Lagos construction site. Results showed that lack of commitment by management was a challenging factor as indicated by majority (69.0%) of the respondents. Inadequate workers‟ training on efficient green practices was also indicated to be a barrier in the implementation of green practices. Another challenge that was highlighted was the inadequate support from local authorities, corruption as well as perception of increased cost of construction.
The third objective was to identify challenges towards compliance to statutes, rules and regulations in environmental practices. It was revealed that inadequate punitive measures by the government were a challenging factor towards compliance to rules and regulations in environmental practices. It was also found out that corruption by officials in government bodies was a contributing factor towards non-compliance to rules and regulations in environmental practices.
Conclusions
The following were the main conclusions and recommendations of the study.
On green practices at Lagos Development construction site, it was concluded that natural resource extraction is taken for granted. Workers believe that there is plenty of raw resources such as timber, cement, gravel, soil and water from nature that are far from being depleted. The management was however seen to be aware of green practices. The contractors are also seen to be aware of sustainability environmental practices. This is drawn from the field observation that showed some of the sustainability practices being carried out at the site. The project however did not actively promote worker(s) as well as general societal health and safety.
The study also concludes that there were challenges that hindered effective implementation of sound environmental practices at Lagos construction site. Some of these challenges include lack of commitment by management; inadequate workers‟ training on efficient green practices as well as inadequate support from local authorities. Perception of increased cost of construction was also cited as a key challenge that hindered effective implementation of sound environmental practices.
The study also concludes that there were challenges towards compliance to statutes, rules and regulations in environmental practices. One of the challenges is inadequate punitive measures put by the government towards compliance to rules and regulations in environmental practices. The respondents felt that the measures were not punitive enough to enhance compliance. Corruption by officials in government bodies that enforces compliance was also cited as a contributing factor towards non-compliance to rules and regulations in environmental practices.
Recommendations
The following are recommendations of the study:
To Contractors
The following green practices should be implemented on site.
In terms of waste management there should be efforts to recycle and reuse construction waste as much as possible as well as ensuring that all non-recyclable waste is cleared from site at the earliest opportunity and disposed of appropriately in designated disposal sites to avoid pile ups. This should be done by engaging a NEMA licensed waste collector.
As a measure to reduce wastage the contractors should ensure construction material requirements are carefully budgeted to avoid leftovers. Materials sort should also be durable to minimize the need of replacement.
There should be measure to train workers on efficient use of water to avoid wastage in construction activities.
Energy use and conservation should be emphasized on site by maintaining equipment and machinery to manufactures‟ specifications and ensure that the equipment are regularly serviced.
Ensure workers are well trained on green practices. It is recommended there be regular meeting with workers before and after work to remind them of green that should be carried out at every stage of the work.
In terms of health, safety and environmental responsibility, the contractors should purpose to comply with OSHA, 2007 and all other relevant regulation governing health and safety at workplaces. There should be a well developed and implemented site specific Emergency Response Plan and all personnel on site made aware of its procedures.
To reduce noise generation hooding should be done to shield the equipment and use equipment installed with noise abatement devices as much as possible. Contractors should go further to ensure the use of rated equipment in welding and related works that would generate minimal noise on site.
Project Management/Proponent
For water, use and conservation the management as well as contractors should ensure that there is rain water harvesting system with adequate provision of storage tanks and retention facilities for water for domestic and construction use.
Information on energy conservation should be well communicated from the top management and contractors to workers to ensure there is minimal idling of machinery, minimal burning on waste on site.
For effective implementation of green practices, it is recommended that there be commitment by management. Commitment can be shown in terms of engaging trained personnel‟s like environmental experts.
Government lead agencies
Support from local authorities to implement green practices at construction site should be enhanced. The government is called upon to ensure sufficient funding to the lead agencies so as to enable them carry out regular inspections.
Awareness should be created to the general public and particularly to the developers that efforts to implement green are well worth and beneficial to all, and this should not be ignored. Even though the efforts incur extra cost, the developers stand to benefit from green rating. This usually has a ripple effect on increased property preference by potential clients thereby increasing the value of the property.
In an effort to encourage adherence to set environmental regulations it is recommended that there be punitive measures to law breakers and to any government lead official who is found corrupt.
Neighborhood Community
The members of the community should put pressure to ensure that construction projects adheres and implements sustainable environmental practices which promotes general societal health and safety even in the future. The community should understand that poor environmental practices at a construction site could affect them negatively or expose them to risks and safety issues.
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