on construction projects
FEATURED PAPER
By Adegoke Ayobami Osungbade, Benedict Amade, PhD, Gregory Chimere Enyinna, PhD and George Jr. Akaun
Federal University of Technology
Owerri, Nigeria
Abstract
GSCM is one of the sustainable initiatives required to ensure that the construction industry is not a major contributor of environmental degradation. The aim of this study was to assess the extent of implementation of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) in the construction industry. Through key practices that include green procurement, eco-design, reverse logistics and technological innovation. The quantitative method was used to collect data from 165 stakeholders consisting of contractors, suppliers, and project managers in Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria. Descriptive statistics were used to assess their levels of adoption as well as their implications. The results show that although the awareness concerning GSCM is high (72 percent of the respondents report the importance of the said concept), the implementation of practices in it is uneven. The most popular ones were green procurement (0.42, p < 0.01) and eco-design (0.36, p < 0.01), these two variables led to a significant increase in the environmental performance. Nonetheless, high costs, the lack of considerable expert knowledge, and the laxity of regulatory implementation are obstacles to the large-scale implementation. The second enabler was related to the use of technological innovation (e.g., Building Information Modeling and energy-efficient systems) as a critical factor, which mediated the linkage between the GSCM practices and project outcomes (indirect effect = 0.21, p < 0.01). The research reveals the importance of policy measure, capacity development, and stakeholder cooperation to hasten GSCM implementation. The research recommends practical solutions for both industry practitioners and policymakers who strive to influence construction projects towards the achievement of global sustainability.
Keywords: Construction industry, green supply chain management (GSCM), Nigeria, project performance, sustainability.
- Introduction
This sector is one of the significant sources of economic growth and, at the same time, developers of environmental damages as it is observed that 3040 percent of carbon emissions around the world are produced by the domain of construction (Balasubramanian, 2022). To counter this, the Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) has been proposed as a measure of reducing the impacts on the environment, in addition to increasing the efficiency of operations (Zhu et al., 2018). Although it may be effective, the adoption of GSCM in the construction industry is uneven, especially in the emerging markets such as those of countries like Nigeria (Ojo et al., 2019). The present study estimates the level of GSCM informed practices like green procurement, eco-design, and reverse logistics in the construction industry in Nigeria, which has occurred due to the apparent paucity of empirical studies on sustainable construction practices in the emerging market. The building sector is also an essential driver of the economy and a source of infrastructure and development all around the globe, however, it is also a very resource-consuming and harmful to nature industry (UNEP, 2021). With 36% of all the world energy consumption (Global ABC, 2022) and nearly 40 percent of the carbon dioxide, the industry is increasingly being subject to pressure to find its way to be more environmentally friendly. Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) has proved to become a revolutionary unification mechanism in addressing the economic growth and the aesthetical aspects of the construction process (Sarkis et al., 2020). The integration of GSCM practices within the construction sector especially in the developing economies such as Nigeria is however, facing major challenges that require the immediate intellectual input and practical responses.
According to the previous researches, GSCM is useful: it helps save money, reduce waste, and make stakeholders more satisfied (Osungbade, 2025: Srivastava, 2019; Walker et al., 2020). Nevertheless, obstacles in the form of high entry costs, low levels of technical capacity, and poor regulatory systems usually impede its mass implementation (Balasubramanian & Shukla, 2019a). In Nigeria, the issues of urbanization and infrastructure challenges are increasing which makes it a crucial aspect of realizing the implementation challenges and drivers of GSCM to develop a sustainable future (Amade et al., 2020). The analyses in the proposed study build on a mixed-method strategy, which incorporates questionnaire-based survey of 156 stakeholders of construction and qualitative knowledge of industry experts to assess the extent of GSCM practices penetration and its mediators, one of them being technological innovation. The environmental impact of the construction industry is spread out throughout the project life cycle, down to extracting raw materials, construction, operation, and finally demolition of a project (Ding et al., 2018). Old fashioned construction techniques can be focused on the short-term costs efficiency and neglect the long-term sustainability results in inefficient use of resources and overuse of project energy and creation of significant waste (Tam et al., 2019). The GSCM provides an effective framework that attempts to tackle these problems as follows; green procurement, eco-design, reverse logistics, and cleaner production practices (Zhu et al., 2018). Decreased by 30-50%, material waste When effectively implemented, these practices can lower material waste by 30-50%, decrease energy consumption by 20-30%, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 15-25 percent (World Green Building Council, 2019).
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How to cite this paper: Osungbade, A.A., Amade, B., Enyinna, G.C., Akaun, G. Jr. (2025). An examination of the extent of green supply chain management (GSCM) implementation on construction projects, featured paper, PM World Journal, Vol. XIV, Issue IX, September. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/pmwj156-Sep2025-Osungbade-et-al-examination-of-green-supply-chain-management-in-construction.pdf
About the Authors
Ayobami Adegoke Osungbade
Federal University of Technology
Owerri, Nigeria
Ayobami Adegoke Osungbade, B. Tech is a professional Operation Capability and Sales Manager with Amofarm Sieberer Hatchery/natnudO foods Ltd. He is a licensed and certified Lean Sigma White belt and Project Management Essential (PME) from Management and Strategy Institute (75928226). He holds a Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech) of Second Class-Upper degree in Project Management Technology from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri. Nigeria and currently awaiting the approval of his Master of Science (M.Sc) Degree Project Management Technology from the same university. He can be reached via email: ayobami042003@gmail.com and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayobami-osungbade-a-msc-397bb359.
Benedict Amade, PhD
Federal University of Technology
Owerri, Nigeria
Dr. Benedict Amade is a Chartered Project Manager by Profession and a Probationer (Member) of Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS). He read and obtained a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) Degree in Project Management Technology from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria. He is a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) U.S.A. Chairman, Research and Academic Matters, Association of Practicing Professional Project Managers of Nigeria (APPPMON) and a Fellow of Tertiary Education Trust Fund Alliance for Innovative Research (TETFAIR), and presently the Deputy Director, Centre for Research Innovation and Development (CRID) and a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Project Management Technology all at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria where he has been lecturing for the past 15 years. His areas of research interest include construction project management, computer-based project management, construction supply chain management and information technology on construction projects. He has authored over 60 scientific publications in international refereed journals indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, Scimago etc. He has presented quality papers at international conferences both home and abroad. He is actively involved in other consultancy works. He can be reached at https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3368-5432; benedictamade@yahoo.com; benedictamade@futo.edu.ng; benedictamade2@gmail.com.
Gregory Chimere Enyinna, PhD
Federal University of Technology
Owerri, Nigeria
Gregory Chimere Enyinna is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Project Management Technology, and Currently the Head of Department, Project Management Technology, Federal University of Technology, Owerri. He studied B.Sc. in Geography and Planning and an M.Sc. in Environmental Management from Abia State University. He studied his PhD in Germany. He is a Fellow of Institute of Management Consulting and the Institute of Policy Management Developers. He is a Resource Person at the World Bank Centre of Excellence in the Federal University of Technology, Owerri.
He can be reached at pycongregco@gmail.com
George Jr Akaun, MSc
Federal University of Technology
Owerri, Nigeria
George Jr. Akaun is an Assistant Lecturer at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri. He holds a B.Tech in Project Management Technology and an M.Sc. in Project Management Technology from Federal University of Technology, Owerri. He is a doctoral candidate in the same department. He is a Certified Environmental and Procurement Standard of the CESPES Program of the World Bank. He can be reached at george.akaun@futo.edu.ng
