IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i5p1830-d1596549.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Critical Regulatory Characteristics for Sustainable Building Construction in South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Chijioke Emmanuel Emere

    (Department of Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology, Walter Sisulu University, Butterworth 4960, South Africa)

  • Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa

    (Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying, SARChl in Sustainable Construction Management and Leadership in the Built Environment, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2092, South Africa)

  • Olusegun Aanuoluwapo Oguntona

    (Department of Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology, Walter Sisulu University, Butterworth 4960, South Africa)

Abstract

Despite continuous advocacy for sustainable building construction (SBC), it is hardly implemented in Africa. There have been varied views on whether regulatory characteristics concerning SBC should be voluntary or mandatory. Experts recommend customising regulatory characteristics to fit the specific country setting. This paper confirms the critical characteristics of implementing SBC in South Africa (SA) effectively. Using a structured questionnaire, data were collected from professionals in the built environment in SA. The data analysis included descriptive statistics, determining group opinion differences, model tests, and fit statistics for a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). It was revealed that mandatory enforcement of sustainable construction rules, mandatory assessment, mandatory sustainable building certifications, and mandatory incentive programs are necessary to implement SBC successfully. This study’s practical implications stem from its ability to provide stakeholders and policymakers with the necessary understanding of the key aspects to help them properly direct reform plans. Laws, regulations, and assessments that must be strictly enforced imply that all stakeholders must have a grave corporation or mandate for practical SBC to accomplish sustainable development goals. By confirming the critical regulatory characteristics, this study would drive and assist government agencies, construction companies, policymakers, and built environment stakeholders in properly guiding improvement initiatives.

Suggested Citation

  • Chijioke Emmanuel Emere & Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa & Olusegun Aanuoluwapo Oguntona, 2025. "Critical Regulatory Characteristics for Sustainable Building Construction in South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-24, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:5:p:1830-:d:1596549
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/5/1830/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/5/1830/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yu Cao & Cong Xu & Syahrul Nizam Kamaruzzaman & Nur Mardhiyah Aziz, 2022. "A Systematic Review of Green Building Development in China: Advantages, Challenges and Future Directions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-29, September.
    2. Liberalesso, Tiago & Oliveira Cruz, Carlos & Matos Silva, Cristina & Manso, Maria, 2020. "Green infrastructure and public policies: An international review of green roofs and green walls incentives," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    3. Philip M. Fearnside, 2018. "Challenges for sustainable development in Brazilian Amazonia," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(2), pages 141-149, March.
    4. Odysseus Manoliadis & Ioannis Tsolas & Alexandra Nakou, 2006. "Sustainable construction and drivers of change in Greece: a Delphi study," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(2), pages 113-120.
    5. Nazirah Zainul Abidin & Ayishatul Powmya, 2014. "Perceptions on Motivating Factors and Future Prospects of Green Construction in Oman," Journal of Sustainable Development, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 7(5), pages 231-231, September.
    6. Yu, Sha & Tan, Qing & Evans, Meredydd & Kyle, Page & Vu, Linh & Patel, Pralit L., 2017. "Improving building energy efficiency in India: State-level analysis of building energy efficiency policies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 331-341.
    7. Firehiwot Kedir & Qian Chen & Daniel M. Hall & Bryan T. Adey & Richard Boyd, 2022. "Formative scenario analysis of the factors influencing the adoption of industrialised construction in countries with high housing demand – the cases of Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(9), pages 690-710, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Che khairil Izam Che Ibrahim & Seosamh B. Costello & Suzanne Wilkinson, 2013. "Development of a conceptual team integration performance index for alliance projects," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(11), pages 1128-1143, November.
    2. Hui Yang & Xiangda Xu, 2024. "Coupling and Coordination Analysis of Digital Economy and Green Agricultural Development: Evidence from Major Grain Producing Areas in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-29, May.
    3. Susca, T. & Zanghirella, F. & Colasuonno, L. & Del Fatto, V., 2022. "Effect of green wall installation on urban heat island and building energy use: A climate-informed systematic literature review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    4. Jaykumar Joshi & Akhilesh Magal & Vijay S. Limaye & Prima Madan & Anjali Jaiswal & Dileep Mavalankar & Kim Knowlton, 2022. "Climate change and 2030 cooling demand in Ahmedabad, India: opportunities for expansion of renewable energy and cool roofs," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 27(7), pages 1-17, October.
    5. Minyoung Roh & Seungho Jeon & Soontae Kim & Sha Yu & Almas Heshmati & Suduk Kim, 2020. "Modeling Air Pollutant Emissions in the Provincial Level Road Transportation Sector in Korea: A Case Study of the Zero-Emission Vehicle Subsidy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-22, August.
    6. Chen, Xiaoyan & Locatelli, Giorgio & Zhang, Xinyue & Gong, Yunhao & He, Qinghua, 2022. "Firm and project innovation outcome measures in infrastructure megaprojects: An interpretive structural modelling approach," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    7. Hanny Chandra Pratama & Theerawat Sinsiri & Aphai Chapirom, 2023. "Green Roof Development in ASEAN Countries: The Challenges and Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-26, May.
    8. Shaleen Singhal & Sapan Thapar & Meenakshi Kumar & Sourabh Jain, 2022. "Impacts of sustainable consumption and production initiatives in energy and waste management sectors: examples from India," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(12), pages 14184-14209, December.
    9. Yue Yang & Kai Hu & Yibiao Liu & Zhihuang Wang & Kaihong Dong & Peijuan Lv & Xing Shi, 2023. "Optimisation of Building Green Performances Using Vertical Greening Systems: A Case Study in Changzhou, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-30, March.
    10. Simplice A. Asongu & Nicholas M. Odhiambo, 2020. "How enhancing gender inclusion affects inequality: Thresholds of complementary policies for sustainable development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(1), pages 132-142, January.
    11. Jin Kook Yang & Le Dinh Thuc & Pham Phu Cuong & Nguyen Van Du & Huu‐Bang Tran, 2023. "Evaluating a driving index of nonresidential green building implementation for sustainable development in developing countries from a Vietnamese perspective," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(3), pages 1720-1734, June.
    12. Otavio Medeiros Sobrinho & Anderson Paulo Rudke & Marcos Vinicius Bueno de Morais & Leila Droprinchinski Martins, 2023. "Meteorological Effects of Green Infrastructure on a Developing Medium Latin American City: A Numerical Modeling Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-19, January.
    13. Shaik, Saboor & Maduru, Venkata Ramana & Kontoleon, Karolos J. & Arıcı, Müslüm & Gorantla, Kirankumar & Afzal, Asif, 2022. "Building glass retrofitting strategies in hot and dry climates: Cost savings on cooling, diurnal lighting, color rendering, and payback timeframes," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    14. Serdar Durdyev & Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas & Derek Thurnell & Audrius Banaitis & Ali Ihtiyar, 2018. "Sustainable Construction Industry in Cambodia: Awareness, Drivers and Barriers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-19, February.
    15. Ran Zhang & Taoyi Chen & Fei Su & Yaohui Liu & Guoqiang Zheng, 2024. "Simulating the Impact of Urban Expansion on Ecological Security Pattern from a Multi-Scenario Perspective: A Case Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan Urban Agglomeration, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-20, October.
    16. Shuvo Dip Datta & Bassam A. Tayeh & Ibrahim Y. Hakeem & Yazan I. Abu Aisheh, 2023. "Benefits and Barriers of Implementing Building Information Modeling Techniques for Sustainable Practices in the Construction Industry—A Comprehensive Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-28, August.
    17. Guangdong Wu, 2017. "A Multi-Objective Trade-Off Model in Sustainable Construction Projects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-18, October.
    18. Valeria Serrano-Núñez & Karolina Villagra-Mendoza & Natalia Gamboa-Alpízar & Miriam Miranda-Quirós & Fernando Watson-Hernández, 2024. "Evaluation of the Hydrological Response of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) in Socio-Economically Vulnerable Tropical Urban Settlements: A Case Study in La Guapil, Costa Rica, Under Climate Change Scenari," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-17, December.
    19. Joel Henrique Ellwanger & Carlos Afonso Nobre & José Artur Bogo Chies, 2022. "Brazilian Biodiversity as a Source of Power and Sustainable Development: A Neglected Opportunity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-16, December.
    20. Yu Cao & Liyan Huang & Nur Mardhiyah Aziz & Syahrul Nizam Kamaruzzaman, 2022. "Building Information Modelling (BIM) Capabilities in the Design and Planning of Rural Settlements in China: A Systematic Review," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-34, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:5:p:1830-:d:1596549. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.