Critical Barriers to Environmental Management System Implementation in the Nigerian Construction Industry

• Published in: Environmental management (New York) 2021-08, Vol.68 (2), p.147-159
• Main Authors: Ojo, Lekan D., Oladinrin, Olugbenga T., Obi, Lovelin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Construction industry; Discriminant analysis; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Environment; Environmental Management; Environmental management systems; Factor analysis; Forestry Management; Hazardous materials; Nature Conservation; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Statistical analysis; Statistical tests; Training; Variance analysis; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control
• ISSN: 0364-152X; 1432-1009
• DOI: 10.1007/s00267-021-01473-y

The impact of different hazardous substances of the construction industry being released to the environment is alarming. This constitutes an adverse effect on the quality of life of construction workers and the populace at large. To reduce this menace, Environmental Management System (EMS) was put in place. Meanwhile, the implementation of EMS in the Nigerian construction industry (NCI) is not certain. This study, therefore, investigated the barriers to EMS implementation in the NCI to group them into a smaller form, i.e., fewer numbers. A questionnaire survey was developed and administered to construction professionals in Nigeria using a purposive sampling technique. The retrieved 106 copies of the questionnaires were subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistics such as mean score, standard deviation, analysis of variance test, post hoc test and exploratory factor analysis. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted three times to identify the critical barriers to EMS implementation in the NCI. The study findings reveal three main categories of barriers affecting EMS implementation, namely; (1) knowledge barrier; (2) process barrier; and (3) culture and management barrier. The study concluded that the three factors indicate the major cardinal barriers that could describe the impediment of EMS in the NCI. It was recommended that the training of construction professionals is important to enhance improvement culture in the NCI.