#OnlyOneEarth: Why Nigeria Needs More Green Building

Nigeria needs more green building to counter environmental damage from rapid urbanization

Five decades ago, the world’s leaders gathered in Stockholm for the UN Conference on the Environment. The conference produced several groundbreaking agreements, including the incorporation of environmental protection considerations in the planning of human settlements, or to put it another way, “green building.” It inspired a shift towards more eco-friendly design, which would see green building grow into a worldwide movement. The green building movement now straddles the globe, with over seventy national green building councils in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. It has transitioned from novelty to commonplace in the developed world; and is quickly entering the mainstream in developing countries.

Opening session of the UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm on 5th June 1972. Over the next 10 days, representatives from 113 UN member states (including 35 African countries) and over 400 nongovernmental organizations would come up with several groundbreaking agreements in response to global environmental degradation (Image Credit: United Nations)

Green building is, however, yet to take root in Nigeria. Though home to a fifth of Africa’s population, the country has less than one tenth of the continent’s 200+ green-certified buildings. This is a problem! A doubling of the country’s population (to about 400 million) by 2050, could result in demand for 50 million or more additional homes. These millions of homes will be accompanied by a plethora of offices, shops, recreational facilities, etc. needed to service our day-to-day lives. More buildings mean greater demand for energy, water and natural resources and more harmful discharges to the environment. Without more green building, the pressure from the built environment on Nigeria’s natural environment will only grow worse.

This is not to say there has not been any progress. Nigeria is one of only three African countries (so far) with a national building energy efficiency code (though yet to be enacted into law). Lagos and Plateau States are in the process of incorporating it into their local building codes. Lagos has gone even further, developing a city resilience strategy, and adopting EDGE as green building standard. This is signaling its private sector to redirect investment away from conventional building, while assuring green investors of a supportive regulatory environment.

Green buildings are rare in Nigeria. One of very few success stories is the Nestoil Tower, a 15-storey commercial office building located at the heart of Victoria Island, Lagos. It was completed in 2016 and achieved LEED Silver certification the same year. (Image Credit: Nestoil)

More action is however needed to scale up green building in Nigeria. Political apathy and public disinterest continue to stymie green building practice. Capacity deficits, regulatory weaknesses and fiscal barriers mean that private sector investment in green building remains abysmally low. Compounding this are challenges of securing a green building certification for projects, especially for small-medium sized ones. Possessing a recognized certification can unlock access to low-interest financing, encouraging developers to build green. However, popular green building certification systems like LEED tend to be technically complex and costly to obtain. This is a major barrier to small-medium size developers, who may not have the technical capacity and face tight budgets.

Urgent action is therefore needed to address these and other barriers to green building in Nigeria. Our public sector, property investors & developers, professional bodies, trade associations, civil society, and the media must to join hands in a mission to scale up green building in the country. Nigeria needs a more sustainable built environment to counter environmental damage from rapid urbanization. As we mark yet another World Environment Day, Nigeria and Nigerians join the rest of humanity in reminding ourselves that we have #OnlyOneEarth.

Green Building Council Nigeria is a membership-based non-governmental organization. Our mission is “To lead the transformation of Nigeria’s built environment to create buildings and communities that are environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable through engagement and partnerships with all green building stakeholders”. Visit our website www.gbcn.org.ng to learn more.