Adoption Of Green Building Practices And Rating System In Kenya: Potentials And Barriers

Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

First Advisor

Shofoluwe, Musibau

Abstract

This research study was undertaken to identify (a) green building rating attributes that could be adopted for Kenya, and (b) barriers to initial adoption of green building practices and a green building rating system in Kenya. The study was primarily built on the premise of select rating and adoption attributes in existing green building standards, especially Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). A pilot phase of the study was conducted using a combination of focus groups and personal interviews. The pilot findings became the basis of a questionnaire that was utilized to survey a sample of 608 registered building professionals in Kenya with a view of understanding their perspectives and awareness towards green building adoption. End-line data was interpreted using a combination of descriptive statistics, content analysis, and analysis of variance. Among other findings, this study revealed that ‘energy and atmosphere’ green building attributes have the highest potential, or likelihood, for adoption in Kenya. These were followed by ‘water efficiency,’ ‘indoor environmental quality,’ ‘materials and resources,’ and ‘sustainable sites,’ in that order. Further, the study revealed that lack of institutional support was the greatest barrier to adoption of green building in Kenya; followed by lack of regulatory and policy tools, socio-economic factors, and inadequate technical and awareness interventions, in that order. Statistically significant differences were noted in the mean responses for the demographic categories of (a) primary occupation, (b) sector of occupation, and (c) years of experience. This mixed method study was timely in providing a preliminary platform for developing green building guidelines and best practices that would be meaningful to the Kenyan building industry. Also, the findings would inform stakeholders about barriers that need to be overcome in order to accelerate green building adoption in Kenya.

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS