Stakeholders in Nigeria’s built environment have launched a new initiative aimed at institutionalising green building practices and accelerating the transition to sustainable construction across the country.

The initiative, known as the Construction Project GreenCard (CPG), is an indigenous green building rating tool designed to evaluate projects across four key sustainability areas: energy efficiency, material selection, water management, and indoor health and comfort.

Presented at a policy and investment roundtable organised by GreenCard Certification International at the Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development, University of Lagos, the framework seeks to provide a locally relevant and affordable alternative to international green building certification systems.

The CPG framework is designed to assess, verify and certify the sustainability performance of buildings and infrastructure projects. Stakeholders said the tool addresses a longstanding gap in Nigeria’s construction and environmental governance landscape by providing a standardised mechanism for measuring sustainability outcomes in the built environment.

Speaking at the pre-launch event, Chairman of the CPG Advisory Board and GreenCard Certification International, Dr Muhammad Balogun, said the initiative had become necessary given the growing contribution of buildings to global carbon emissions.

According to him, buildings account for more than 40 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions through material production, construction activities and operational energy use.

Balogun noted that decisions made during the design and construction stages have long-term environmental implications, as most buildings remain in use for at least five decades.

He warned that Africa’s rapid urbanisation and growing housing demand could place unprecedented pressure on natural resources and energy systems unless sustainability standards are embedded in future developments.

“Buildings we construct today will determine environmental outcomes for generations. Without deliberate sustainability measures, the impact of rapid urbanisation could be severe,” he said.

Balogun further highlighted the economic opportunities associated with green construction, noting that Nigeria’s construction market, estimated at $34.7 billion, presents significant prospects for investors and developers.

He said evidence from certified green developments in Lagos showed that tenants spend between 15 and 25 per cent less on operational costs compared to occupants of conventional buildings, while investors benefit from stronger asset values and improved returns.

He added that international development finance institutions, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), are increasingly prioritising environmentally sustainable projects, creating additional incentives for developers to adopt green building standards.

Balogun urged industry stakeholders to embrace the initiative, stressing that clear sustainability benchmarks would help position green construction as the norm rather than the exception in Nigeria’s property sector.

Also speaking, Chief Architect at the Office of e-GIS and Urban Development, Lagos State government, Anna Obadina, identified fragmented regulations as one of the major barriers to the growth of green buildings in Nigeria.

She explained that while policies such as the National Building Code, Building Energy Efficiency Code, Energy Transition Plan and Climate Change Policy contain sustainability provisions, the absence of a comprehensive green building framework has limited implementation.

Obadina welcomed the inclusion of the building sector in Nigeria’s latest Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC 3.0) under the Paris Agreement, describing it as a major milestone in integrating the built environment into the country’s climate action agenda.

“Before now, the built environment was never captured in our national contributions. Now buildings have a role to play,” she said.

She disclosed that Lagos State has already incorporated sustainability requirements into its planning and building approval processes through the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) and the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA).

According to her, the state’s sub-national building code establishes minimum sustainability standards for new developments and makes compliance mandatory for obtaining planning approvals.

“Through LASPPPA and LASBCA, the state has created a sub-national building code that sets minimum sustainability standards for any new development. In practice, this means no building permit is granted in Lagos without meeting those requirements,” she said.

Obadina called on other states to adopt similar frameworks to support Nigeria’s climate commitments and promote sustainable urban development.