Adoption of sustainable construction for small contractors: major barriers and best solutions

There have been numerous studies on the adoption of sustainable construction; however, few have attempted to analyze the sustainable construction adoption from the perspective of small contractors. The objectives of this study are to investigate the major barriers that prevent small contractors from adopting sustainable construction and to propose a group of best solutions that can overcome these barriers. To achieve these goals, a comprehensive literature review was conducted first. Then, data from 30 Singapore-based small contractors were collected through a questionnaire for analysis. Results reported that “extra investment required,” “slow recovery of investment,” “lack of incentives,” “limited knowledge on sustainable construction,” “tendency to maintain current practices,” and “lack of demands from clients” were the top six barriers that hinder small contractors from adopting sustainable construction. Results also revealed that three barrier categories, namely “financial barriers,” “management barriers,” and “knowledge barriers,” were more critical to small contractors than to large contractors. Lastly, five best solutions that could help small contractors overcome the identified barriers were suggested. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by investigating the barriers and solutions for small contractors in adopting sustainable construction. The findings from this study are helpful to the industry practitioners as well, as they can enhance their understandings of the barriers and can also help policy makers to come up with more effective policies to tackle these barriers.