Journal of
Civil Engineering and Construction Technology

  • Abbreviation: J. Civ. Eng. Constr. Technol.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2141-2634
  • DOI: 10.5897/JCECT
  • Start Year: 2010
  • Published Articles: 141

Review

Economic sustainability of green building practices in least developed countries

Amos Kalua
  • Amos Kalua
  • Department of Land Management, Mzuzu University, Private Bag 201, Luwinga, Mzuzu 2, Malawi
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  •  Received: 14 April 2015
  •  Accepted: 04 June 2015
  •  Published: 30 June 2015

Abstract

Green Building Practices (GBPs) are gradually receiving worldwide recognition and uptake. It is argued that facilities built according to the GBPs, called green buildings are not only environmentally friendly, but also, economically more productive than other comparable ordinary ones. In the latter regard thus, green buildings’ periodical rental premiums, finished property values and energy efficiencies, amongst others, are higher. Much as these studies fare well in portraying GBPs as being environmentally sustainable, very little research has been undertaken to ascertain their economic sustainability especially in the context of Least Developed Countries (LDCs). This paper explores the latter, going through the perspectives of public awareness and access to construction finance, political will, construction industry sizes to green building materials’ sources and argues that GBPs may not be economically sustainable in the LDCs.
 
Key words: Green building practices, economic sustainability, climate change, environmental pollution, least developed countries.

Abbreviation

GBPs, Green Building Practices; LDCs, Least Developed Countries; UN-HABITAT, United Nations Human Settlements Programme; UNCTAD, United Nations Conference on Trade and the Environment; UNEP, United Nations Environment Programme; UNFCCC, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; GHG, Green House Gas; USEPA, United States Environmental Protection Agency; EPBD, Energy Performance of Buildings Directive; EU, European Union; LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design; WGBC, World Green Building Council; BCA, Building Construction Authority – Singapore; LCCA, Life Cycle Costing Analysis; OECD, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development; CEC, Commission for Environmental Cooperation; UNECE, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe; AFDB,  African Development Bank; GoM, Government of Malawi; RoZ, Republic of Zambia; RoC, Royal Kingdom of Cambodia.

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This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

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