Achieving sustainable procurement practices in the Nigerian construction industry: examining potential barriers and strategies

Abstract

Procurement is a main procedure in realising construction project management. This study reviewed the existing procurement practices in the Nigerian construction industry with the aim of identifying barriers to sustainable procurement and develop strategies that will enhance procurement practices and ensure the construction industry perform sustainably. A sequential mixed methods research design was adopted in this study. The qualitative method was first employed to understand the current status of the procurement practices by using semistructured interview and document analysis as tools. The study revealed that the most severe barrier to sustainability is lack of government commitment, and that the best strategy is to ensure that competent people are saddled with the responsibility for integrating and implementing sustainability issues. The study concluded that the current procurement practices in the Nigerian construction industry is yet to embrace the triple bottom line of sustainability initiatives as it places more emphasis on the economic aspect of procurement. Therefore, Nigerian Governments should join the global campaign through the review of current procurement Act to embrace sustainability. This will assist in addressing the barriers of sustainable development through procurement practices by leveraging their impact as major customers of good and services in the industry.

Keywords: Barriers; Construction industry; Nigeria; Procurement and Sustainability