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International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences
Vol. 12, No. 8, 2022, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2022 HRMARS
1475
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Barriers in Implementing Sustainable Construction among
Contractor
Shafikah Saharuddin, Nurul Fatihah Hassan, Izatul Farrita Mohd Kamar
To Link this Article: http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v12-i8/14485 DOI:10.6007/IJARBSS/v12-i8/14485
Received: 15 June 2022, Revised: 17 July 2022, Accepted: 29 July 2022
Published Online: 20 August 2022
In-Text Citation: (Saharuddin et al., 2022)
To Cite this Article: Saharuddin, S., Hassan, N. F., & Kamar, I. F. M. (2022). Barriers in Implementing Sustainable
Construction among Contractor. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social
Sciences, 12(8), 1475 – 1482.
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Vol. 12, No. 8, 2022, Pg. 1475 – 1482
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JOURNAL HOMEPAGE
International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences
Vol. 12, No. 8, 2022, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2022 HRMARS
1476
Barriers in Implementing Sustainable
Construction among Contractor
Shafikah Saharuddin, Nurul Fatihah Hassan, Izatul Farrita
Mohd Kamar
Department of Built Environment Studies and Technology, Faculty of Architecture, Planning
and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Perak Branch, 32610, Seri Iskandar, Perak,
Malaysia
Email: shafikahsaharuddin@uitm.edu.my, fatihahhassan153@gmail.com,
izatul739@uitm.edu.my
Abstract
The construction industry is developing rapidly and become one of the backbones of the
country. At the same time, building and sustainability are often highlighted important and
connected to one another. Even the country has come out with a momentous milestone of
the Twelfth Malaysia Plan (2021-2025) with 14 game-changers, where one of them is focusing
on advancing green growth for sustainability and resilience. Hence, Green Building Index (GBI)
is introduced in Malaysia as a rating system that aims to promote the use of energy efficient.
Sustainable construction in building development have been shown to have a clear positive
impact on the environment, it has been highlighted as the current trend in environmental
protection. However, different advantages and disadvantages are enticing and discouraging
the contractors from implementing sustainable construction in their projects. Therefore, this
study is conducted to determine the barriers in implementing sustainable construction
among contractors in Malaysia. In attaining the objectives of this study, quantitative approach
is adopted, where quantitative data is utilised in the methodology phase via questionnaire
survey. The data collected were analysed using SPSS Software and presented in the form of
descriptive analysis of mean, standard deviation and ranks. The findings of the study found
that the main critical barrier faced among contractors in the application of sustainable
construction in Malaysia is the sustainable construction requires more time and cost
investment ranked as number 1 with the mean of 4.94 and standard deviation 0.243. Thus,
this study has provided the initiative to overcoming the barriers in sustainable construction is
significant to ensure the contractor can acquire the benefits from implementing sustainable
construction. From the study, it is suggested that further research should be made in
identifying initiatives to promote the application of sustainable construction among
contractors in Malaysia to adapt sustainable lifestyle in the country.
Keywords: Barriers, Contractors, Sustainable, Sustainable Construction.
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Research Background
The concept of sustainable development has been introduced by the government since 1996
in Malaysia after realizing that problems with pollution have spread all over the country. Few
campaigns have been introduced such as ‘Cintailah Sungai Kita’ and ‘Kempen Kitar Semula’.
Most of the campaigns are focusing on the natural resources such as rivers, forests and air
quality involving environmental sustainability. Sustainable development is a simple idea of
ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come. It means
achieving social, economic and environmental objectives at the same time. The construction
industry has a huge contribution to fulfil our quality of life. Construction, building materials
and associated professional services together account for some 10% of Gross Domestic
Product and provide employment for around 1.5 million people (Raynsford, 2000). Building
and structures change the nature, function and appearance of our towns and countryside.
Although sustainable development has been the ‘buzzword’ since 1980s, but the concept is
not new for Malaysia because it has been applied in Malaysian Developed Plan since 1970s.
The concern for sustainable development has been echoed by subsequence five years plans
(Ibrahim & Abdullah, 2001). How our construction industry is developed, planned, designed,
constructed, and used will largely determine our quality of life. A well planned and designed
built environment will consider the natural environment and validate it as intrinsically
important and also necessary to our own well-being. Green building rating systems can
influence the development of green buildings to a great extent. Many assessment methods
have been developed to assist in the design, construction, operation, repair, maintenance and
demolition of green buildings in accordance with the green grading system (Ebekozien et al.,
2021). However, in order for a building to be classified as green building it need to fulfil a
certain criterion (Bahaudin et al., 2012).
In Malaysia, the green movement is still in its infancy. Sustainable projects are mostly at the
pioneer stage (Abidin, 2010). However, there are several challenges in adopting technologies
in the Malaysia construction industry (Sim and Putuhena, 2015). The cost is the main priority
of sustainable development (Lim, 2015). The construction companies will face the problem of
the higher initial cost and obstacles to find material that fulfils the green criteria or sustainable
construction.
According to Lim (2015) the government concern about sustainable construction in Malaysia,
therefore the government has been promoting sustainability initiatives since year 2000.
According to Sim and Putuhena (2015), the government which are the Association of
Consulting Engineers Malaysia (ACEM) and Pertubuhan Arkitek Malaysia (PAM) has been
develop Green Building Index to promote sustainability in built environment. However, there
is still lack of incentives given. This is because the incentive that the government provided
does not attract construction practitioners to develop sustainable buildings. Chan et al.
(2014), stated that when the government and private sector share a same concern and goal,
Malaysia’s construction industry may advance and become more sustainable. This shows that
both private and governments need to cooperate in order to adopt green technology in
construction industry.
Furthermore, there is also lack of understanding, awareness and application about
sustainable construction concepts in the construction industry (Lim, 2015). Hence, the
construction practitioners need to attend a lot of seminars independently, either local or
international, showing how important to sustain our environment, economic and social for
our future generations especially in promoting the sustainable construction concepts to the
International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences
Vol. 12, No. 8, 2022, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2022 HRMARS
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contractors. Hence, this study will be carried out in order to determine the application of
sustainable construction criteria among contractors in Malaysia.
Literature Review
Abidin (2010), stated that sustainable construction dubbed ‘green construction’
explains the responsibility of the construction industry in achieving sustainability. The term of
sustainability has been adopted as an effective remedy for change development. The
concepts of sustainability must be applied into the construction industry to influence the way
a project is carried out to achieve a balance between preserving the environment and
maintaining prosperity in development. Sustainability is a new concept in developing
countries, including Malaysia. Most of the industry stakeholders such as contractors and
developers do not understand the benefits to implement sustainable construction. Hence,
the implementation in the sustainable building is limited. According to Abidin (2009), the
criteria of sustainability in building and construction that focused on issues of limited
resources in particular energy and on how to minimise the impacts on the natural
environment with emphasis on technological issues such as materials, building components,
construction technology and design principles related to energy. The criteria of sustainable
construction govern three main pillars which is environmental protection, social well-being
and economic prosperity.
Green Building Index (GBI) is developed by Pertubuhan Arkitek Malaysia (PAM) and the
Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia (ACEM). This association is an initiative to lead
the construction industry towards environment- friendly concepts. Sustainable buildings are
designed to reduce the negative impacts on the environment while increasing the occupant’s
health by forwarding these five categories, sustainable site planning, safeguarding water and
water efficiency, energy efficiency, conservation and the reuse of materials and improved
health and indoor environmental quality. According to Shafiei et al (2013) the Green Building
Index where a rating system is applicable for all buildings. There are six criteria rated by GBI
in all the building which are Energy Efficiency, Indoor Environmental Quality, Sustainable site
and Management, Material and resources, Water Efficiency and Innovation.
The sustainable construction provides benefits to the environment, social and
economics. In terms of environmental benefits, sustainable development means meeting
needs in ways which deliver social progress, protection of the environment, better resource
use, economic growth and employment (Raynsford, 2000). The Malaysian economic growth
can be rise by adapting sustainable construction and even better making sure the
environment is well conserve. Sustainable development is a simple idea of ensuring a better
quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come. It means achieving social,
economic and environmental objectives at the same time. Meanwhile, according to Yudelson,
(2008), the benefits of the green building is minimize the use of non-renewable construction
material and other resources. For examples energy and water through design and
construction and effective recycling of construction waste. While, according to (Raynford,
2000), conserving resources. In order to conserve the resources, the construction
practitioners should maximize the use of the recycled materials, renewable, sustainable
managed and bio-based materials in a manner that allow for the use of fewer materials and
employ the processes that use less raw materials. Meanwhile, Water efficiency refers to the
use of water supplies in a way that conserves water and ensures a secure supply of clean
water for current and future generations. This means using rainwater and non-potable water
for the plant irrigation and washing that can save amount portable water and it increases cost
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of saving for green building (Shafiei et al., 2013). In Malaysian, GBI is aware about the need
of green building because of green buildings make efficient uses of resources, have cost
operation savings and improve the quality of human life (Ismail et al., 2015).
Other than that, according to Shafiei et al (2013), there are social benefits from
implementing the sustainable development which is minimizing strain on local infrastructure,
heightening aesthetic qualities, improving overall quality of life, having healthier lifestyles and
recreation and enhancing occupant comfort and health. Those who is working in green built
properties will better concentrate on their job and become more efficient because they have
clean air to breathe, natural light to look and energy resources that are put to good use.
According to Tokbolat et al (2020), the social benefit from the implementing green building
consists of enhance health and safety, collaborative working environment and secure
industry. Besides, our environment has a major effect on our wellbeing when it comes to our
quality of life. Hence, the occupants living or working in the green buildings have noticed an
important change in their quality of life because of an improved lighting resources and
improved air quality.
The application of the green building also have benefits towards the economy.
According to Smit & du Toit (2015), the application of the green building will lower the
operating cost. This is because the electricity and water usage are the main contributors to
the operation in each building. Energy and water saving has become economic advantages in
applying sustainable development (Shafiei et al., 2013). This is because the green buildings on
range are 25% to 30% more efficient in term of energy use (Smit & du Toit, 2015). Shafiei et
al (2013), stated that the implementation on sustainable development will improved
employee attendance and increased employee productivity. Thus, an eco-friendly workplace
generates positive energy, while natural resources improve the health of those who work in
the green building. Employee will remain happy and eager to go to work every day.
Research Methodology
The method of data collection used for this research is by using the quantitative
approach. The process of collecting data is done by distributing questionnaire to 313 targeted
respondents which is contractor Grade 7 at Petaling, Selangor, Malaysia. The five items Likert
Scale is used in the questionnaire survey. According to Kya et al (2015), the 5-point Likert scale
is the most common scale. The 5-point Likert scale used ranging from 1=strongly disagree, 2
= disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree. The Likert scale was chosen in this study
because the Likert scale is the most effective method in identifying the respondents’ choices.
The sampling list is obtained from the list of contractors registered with Construction Industry
Development Board (CIDB). There were 1711 construction companies in Petaling, Selangor
according to the CIDB (2022). The questionnaires were sent out via email due to the
restriction of SOP since Pandemic Covid-19 occurred. For this study, the sample size for the
population of 1700 is 313 (Krejie & Morgan, 1970). Meanwhile, Lindemann (2019) stated that
the average response rate for the overall survey type in 2019 is 33% while for an email survey
is 30%. However, the minimum response rate was set at 60% to make sure enough data
received for successful research. As a result, this survey received 87% response rate
equivalent to 271 respondents from 313 questionnaires distributed in this survey. Then, the
data is analysed by using SPSS 27.0 in the forms of descriptive analysis of mean and standard
deviation. The information gathered was analysed in the form of a table.
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Analysis and Discussion
Table 1 shows the results of mean and standard deviation according to the ranking
from the questionnaire survey, which is on the barriers faced among the contractors in the
application of sustainable construction in Malaysia. From the analysis, it can be concluded
that the barriers faced among the contractors in the application of sustainable construction
in Malaysia is the sustainable construction requires more time and cost investment. It means
that the sustainable construction requires more time and cost investment is the most
challenging barriers faced among the contractors in Malaysia. This can be analyse from the
highest ranking of mean score which is 4.94 with the standard deviation 0.243 for the barriers
of the sustainable construction requires more time and cost investment. Followed by the
barriers of high initial cost for sustainable construction in rank 2 with the mean score of 4.91
and the barriers of contractor’s lack of knowledge about the sustainable construction will
affect the project in rank 3 with the mean score of 4.88. Meanwhile, the lowest which is in
rank 9 is the barrier of the demand of the green building is considered new in Malaysia with
the mean score of 4.26.
Table 1
The barriers in implementing sustainable construction
Barriers in Implementing Sustainable
Construction
Mean
Standard
Deviation
Rank
The sustainable construction requires
more time and cost investment.
4.94
0.243
1
Initial cost for sustainable construction is
high.
4.91
0.289
2
Contractor’s lack of knowledge about the
sustainable construction will affect the
project.
4.88
0.359
3
Unfamiliar with the performances of
sustainable technologies will affect the
performance of the sustainable
construction.
4.88
0.323
4
Unfamiliar with the performances of
sustainable technologies will affect the
performance of the sustainable
construction.
4.88
0.363
5
Many construction practitioners are not
qualified in the sustainable issues and
practices.
4.85
0.410
6
7Limited support and incentives from
government has slow down the sustainable
construction.
4.70
0.546
7
Lack of regulatory from the government
has decreased the sustainable
construction.
4.64
0.586
8
The demand of the green building is
considered new in Malaysia.
4.26
0.985
9
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From Table 1, the sustainable construction requires more time and cost investment is mostly
agree by the respondents, this is also supported by Chan (2014), mentioned that
implementing sustainable construction need significant amount of time and cost investment.
Lim (2015) also stated that cost is the main priority in sustainable development.
Conclusion
As for the conclusion, the research objectives of the study which are to identify the barriers
faced among the contractors in the application of sustainable construction in Malaysia has
been achieved by rank of mean for each barriers listed. Thus, this can be concluded that the
main 3 barriers in implementing sustainable construction among contractors in Malaysia are
because of the need of significant amount of time and cost investment in implementing
sustainable construction, high initial cost for sustainable construction and the contractor’s
lack of knowledge about sustainable construction. This research analysis revealed that the
sustainable construction requires more time and cost investment are the critical barriers that
need to be highlighted in implementing sustainable construction in Malaysia. The result was
consistent with the previous study, as mentioned by Chan (2014) that implementing
sustainable construction need significant amount of time and cost investment. Therefore, it
convinces that the contractors are having problems to implement sustainable construction
due to the increase in time and cost in the execution of sustainable construction. Based on
the findings and analysis that have been made, the significance of the study to the contractors
in Malaysian construction industry are:
• To inspire contractors in Malaysia to apply the sustainable constructions concepts by
referring to the application of the sustainable construction concepts in these studies.
• To ensure the contractors can acquire the benefits from implementing sustainable
construction in Malaysia.
• To establish more knowledge on the Malaysian sustainable construction .
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