Stakeholders have raised concerns about the fragmentation of green building initiatives in Nigeria, stressing the need for harmonisation and collaboration to achieve sustainability goals.
They called for greater awareness, the development of a unified Nigerian standard, clear definitions and metrics for measuring green building performance, access to financing, and stronger involvement of academia in curriculum development, research, and capacity building.
The call was made at a one-day South West Regional Workshop on the NDC Scorecard for Sustainable Buildings Project in Lagos, organised by the Green Building Council of Nigeria (GBCN) in collaboration with the Lagos Office of Enterprise Geographic Information System (EGIS) and Urban Development.
President of GBCN, Danjuma Waniko, who set the tone for discussions, said the forum aimed to build awareness among state-level stakeholders, explore opportunities for local adoption and policy reforms, and support the integration of sustainable building measures into regional climate strategies.
Waniko, a quantity surveyor, noted that the built environment is responsible for a significant share of global emissions, up to 39 per cent, but that better designs and construction practices can help reduce impacts while enabling cities and buildings to cope with emerging climate challenges.
An associate professor in the Department of Building, University of Lagos, Olatunji Oladiran, observed that academia is not well integrated into green building initiatives. He stressed that some of these concepts should be incorporated into universities’ curricula through the Nigerian University Commission (NUC), and called for greater collaboration in research, as well as the use of local building materials to provide practical industry solutions.
Also speaking, President of the Association of Consulting Architects in Nigeria (ACAN), Ekaete Fujah, a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accredited professional, lamented the difficulties associated with obtaining certification for green buildings in Nigeria.
She urged the establishment of a clear route for certification and commended the Lagos State government for its engagement in construction and demolition waste management. “There has to be a way of harnessing all of this to achieve the goals of sustainability, carbon zero and energy efficiency,” she said.
The Chairman of the Lagos branch of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Mr Tosin Kadiri, said the institution has begun organising programmes to educate members on the importance of green buildings, the impact of climate change, and the cost implications for property management.
“We believe that from the design stage, green building needs to be taken into consideration because you can’t begin to integrate these concepts when the building is already in place,” he said.
Head of Innovation and New Product Development at Lafarge Africa Plc, Mr Emmanuel Illaboya, noted that awareness of green building is growing, but distorted by industry fragmentation.
“If you look at some of the certification bodies, what LEED measures differ from International Finance Corporation (IFC) Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE). However, EDGE is trying to adapt to the Nigerian market,” he said, while supporting the establishment of a local certification body.
Illaboya explained that Lafarge has introduced low-carbon materials and is developing solutions for reusing construction and demolition materials. “Actually, it’s not waste; we take it back and use it to create new products, so there’s no wastage.”
He called for stronger collaboration across the sector and floated the idea of building a pilot green building with the Lagos State government. “We need to standardise whether we are doing buildings, materials, or design. Standardise your work so that there is harmony,” he added.
