Investigating into the opportunities and challenges associated with green buildings in Ghana

TABLE OF CONTENT, CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT

1.2 AIM OF STUDY

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

1.4 KEY RESEARCH QUESTIONS (HYPOTHESIS)

1.5 OUTLINE METHODOLOGY

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

1.7 LIMITATION OF RESEARCH

1.8 SCOPE OF STUDY

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 Investigating into the opportunities and challenges associated with green buildings in Ghana

1.0 Introduction

In recent times, real estate industry and infrastructure development in Ghana are progressively

growing due to the nation's expanding populace, developing economy and positive venture

environment. This has triggered lots of local and foreign investors buying properties,

constructing residential homes, strip malls, commercial and industrial housing. However, how

best do these investors and developers ensure through their choice of design, construction and

methods so as to enhance negative ecological results of construction.

Umar and Khamidi (as cited in Nduka and Adegboyega, 2014) stated that the building business

has been accounted to be in charge of around 25-40% of vitality utilization, 30-40% of material

asset utilization, 30-40% of waste generation and 30-40% of nursery gasses discharged to the

environment around the world.

Green building or construction merely implies the choice of building design, materials, and

approach that reduce harm to our environment with lesser depletion of critical resources like

energy, water, and raw materials.

Palmese (2009) explains the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s view of Green

building or “sustainable” building, as the act of making structures and utilizing procedures that

are environmentally mindful and resource efficient all through a building's life-cycle from

inception to plan, development, operation, upkeep, redesign, and deconstruction. Satterfield

(2009) further stressed that the expression "green" alludes to ecologically inviting practices from

building design to the finishing decisions. It additionally incorporates energy use, water use,

storm and waste water reuse.

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 Investigating into the opportunities and challenges associated with green buildings in Ghana

Due to numerous potential advantages from executing sustainability in the built environment, all

stakeholders of building including contractual workers, subcontractors, engineers, and so on are

adapting to sustainable design and development to ensure and preserve water; enhance energy

performance; decrease adverse environmental effects; improve indoor ecological quality and

have implemented a business approach to ‘corporate sustainability’. (Myunghwa et al, 2014)

Despite these benefits green construction also comes with a price thus the technology, skills,

awareness and capital involve in its development.

A number of research studies (Saleh and Alalouch, 2015; Doctor, 2007 and Eisenberg et al,

2002) have identified different challenges facing the green building in recent time.

Doctor (2007) in an article indicated that there keeps on being an absence of precise, intense, and

quantifiable data in regards to the budget and financial effects of green structures within the

construction and home building industry.

Furthermore, there are additionally leaps concerning the perception of cost, which has turned

into a hindrance in the speedier acknowledgment of green building ideas.

In the study of the major potential challenges to the sustainable construction in Oman (Eisenberg

et al, 2002) these challenges were classified into groups, thus; economic, professional, societal

and technological challenge.

This hurdle cannot be ruled out when discussing the need for green building in developing

country like Ghana. The problem lies in the stakeholder awareness of green building; it’s

enforced either by the government (the EPA) or NGO’s and the appraisal of green buildings by

recognised bodies.

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 Investigating into the opportunities and challenges associated with green buildings in Ghana

In most advanced countries like the US, similar recognised body (Leadership in Energy and

Environmental Design, LEED) who advises, rates and certify the environmental performance of

buildings similar to the newly established Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) and

many others.(Nduka and Adegboyega, 2014).

The need for green building development, adoption and its assessment for future development

relies on the thoughts of the Ghanaian stakeholders.

1.1 Problem Statement

The spate of recent architectural design trends, construction, use of all sorts of building

materials, elements, mechanisms, and operations has brought the need for individuals to

understand the effects of their activities. And how best their actions can save our ecosystem for

our future generation, not undermining the challenges involve in employing this green

construction.

A study by Baiden et al. (2014), stressed the need to incorporate the use of burnt clay bricks,

which contribute substantially to thermal insulation ability than other building materials such as

concrete when taking sustainable building materials into account.

Recent power failure issues due to population growth rate in the country have brought the need

for architects, contractors, and all other consent stakeholders to incorporate less demanding

energy and eco-friendly structures.

The problem is very alarming because, if individuals and stakeholders have lesser thoughts in the

implementation and incorporation of green construction, their choice of designs, structures,

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 Investigating into the opportunities and challenges associated with green buildings in Ghana

methods and mechanisms today would drench the country into chaos tomorrow by destroying

our environment and hence there is a need for this mess to be eliminated.

1.2 Aim of Study

The aim of this research is to investigate into the opportunities and challenges associated with

green buildings in Ghana.

1.3 Objectives of Study

 To analyse stakeholders perception on the opportunities offered by going green.

 To evaluate the importance of sustainable buildings.

 To find out whether there are proper implementation and law enforcement.

 To examine the challenges associated with the employment of green buildings.

1.4 Key Research Questions (Hypothesis)

 Is there available institution or body that enforce and educate on sustainable construction?

 Has the government than enough to promote green buildings?

 Do architects and structural engineers, design affect performance of building?

 Is there the need for green building rating system?

 1.5 Outline methodology

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 Investigating into the opportunities and challenges associated with green buildings in Ghana

To acquire a very compact and meaningful information for these studies the following methods

would be used;

Primary data collection

 Extraction of information’s through the distribution of questionnaires to required personnel,

(investors, clients, contractors, subcontractors, foremen, project managers, etc.)

 Personal observations, interview, and photographs.

Secondary data collection;

 Citations from academic Journal, literature reviews, conference proceedings, seminars,

newspapers, books, and other internet related articles.

1.6 Significance of study

Upon conclusion, the findings of this study would provide an adequate procedures and wider

knowledge on the need for stakeholders to adopt sustainable buildings.

With the high rate of construction activities and booming in the property sector, this research

would serve as a manual for all interested parties regarding the choice of design, materials,

mechanism, resources, etc. that promote an eco-friendly environment.

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 Investigating into the opportunities and challenges associated with green buildings in Ghana

Furthermore, individual scholars could carry greater studies in the findings and conclusion of this

work, and again interested researchers can revise or test the viability of the results and advance

them in their required interests.

1.7 Limitation of Research

There are lesser local researches and studies in the field of green technologies and sustainable

buildings, thereby creating difficulties when searching for information regarding the subject

matter.

Responses from a government official and other national related bodies like the EPA would be

challenging since some might ignore giving out or sharing vital information out as the result of

their own reasons or so-called privacies.

To get instructive and reliable information, lots of stakeholders (respondents) must be reached,

hence its financially and timely demanding.

1.8 Scope of Study

This study limits data collection to some consent stakeholders like; owners, employees,

contractors, consultancies, architects, clients, the governments (agencies), etc., within Accra

Metropolitan District (Accra Central).

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Reference

Nduka, .D.O and Adegboyega, S.S (2014) Stakeholders Perception on the Awareness of Green
Building Rating Systems And Accruable Benefits in Construction Projects in Nigeria, Journal of
Sustainable Development in Africa (Volume 16, No.7, 2014)

Palmese, R. (20019) Green Technology Strategy and Leadership for clean and sustainable
communities. 236 W. Mountain St., Suite 105 Pasadena, CA 91103

Satterfield, Z.P.E (2009) Green building, Published by The National Environmental Services
Center at West Virginia University, Volume 8.

Lee, Kang, Yong, A., Han, Jeon, and Suh, (2014) Organizational Strategies to Support
Sustainability in the
Construction Company, world SB 4 Barcelona.

Saleh, M.S, and Alalouch, C. (2015) International Conference on Sustainable Design,

Engineering and Construction Towards sustainable construction in Oman:
Challenges & Opportunities, Department of Civil & Architectural Engineering, College of
Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University

Doctor, A.V. (2007) Green Building - The Challenges towards Widespread Acceptance by Home
Builders, [Online Article], Available http://EzineArticles.com/?Green-Building---The-
Challenges-Towards-Widespread-Acceptance-By-Home-Builders&id=1092121 [20th November
2015].

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 Investigating into the opportunities and challenges associated with green buildings in Ghana

Eisenberg, D., Done, R. and Ishida, L. (2002) Breaking Down the Barriers: Challenges and
Solutions to Code Approval of Green Building, Development Center for Appropriate
Technology Tucson, AZ

Baiden, K.B., Agyekum, K. and Ofori-Kuragu, K. J. (2014) Perceptions on Barriers to the Use of
Burnt Clay Bricks for Housing Construction, Department of Building Technology, Kwame
Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Private Mail Bag, Kumasi, Ghana
Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Construction Engineering Volume 2014, Article ID
502961