Awareness, Attitudes and Perception of Green Building Practices and Principles in the Zambian Construction Industry: A Qualitative Descriptive Cross Sectional Study

If building industry professionals wish to help reduce the negative effects of construction on the environment, they must be aware of green building technology. Green building demonstration projects have been used to disseminate this knowledge to both practitioners and communities.

Different strategies have been used to share green building technology, however there is little data to show that green construction sites in Zambia have increased awareness. There are only a few green buildings in the works, yet these few structures could serve as a source of awareness. Understanding the level of awareness, perceptions, and attitudes about green building practices among artisans, communities, and professionals gives an excellent baseline for disseminating knowledge about green building technology. The level of awareness, attitudes, and perceptions of green construction methods among participants in a green housing project in Zambia's North-Western and Lusaka provinces is investigated in this research. All of the participants who were directly involved in the project were interviewed as part of a qualitative descriptive cross sectional study. According to the findings, those who had engaged in past sustainability projects had a higher level of awareness than those who had not. Professionals learned about renewable energy from workshops, the media, green building demonstration houses, and institutions of higher learning, while artisans learned about it from prior renewable energy projects. Only two (2) individuals of the community demonstrated a high level of awareness as a result of reading and viewing documentaries on national television. The findings imply that professionals stationed on site were more alert than artisans who worked on the same project for the same period of time. On the Likert scale, professionals had the most positive perceptions and attitudes. All the groups agreed that green building materials could only be affordable if they were locally produced. According to the findings, there are a variety of approaches to train practitioners in green construction methods, and no single method is enough. The sufficiency of the training depends on whether participants were made aware on the knowledge was being imparted. This should be done right at the start of the project. The demonstration houses demonstrated that they might be a reliable training resource. Based on what the community said publications can be a good source of knowledge. For the professions, knowledge was acquired from university. This knowledge altered their perceptions and level of awareness. Artisans who had previously worked on green building projects had gathered experience. However, the amount of knowledge received was determined by educational levels. Green building techniques training should consequently be implemented in both higher education and trade schools.