Developers’ willingness to invest in green features in Abuja, Nigeria

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the degree of willingness of property developers to invest in green features in Abuja, the federal capital city of Nigeria, to determine the level of their preparedness for green building development.Design/methodology/approachData were elicited from the property managers of the various property development companies through self-administered questionnaire and analyzed with the use of frequency distribution, percentages and measures of developers’ willingness to invest index.FindingsThe study showed that the developers’ level of willingness to invest in green features is above average with the value of willingness indices on most features rising above 2.5 on a five-point scale. Features that are less capital intensive such as “Location of air intake that are far from source of pollution” (RWI = 4.14) and “Building design that utilize natural and cross ventilation” (RWI = 4.12) attracted higher developers’ level of willingness than features such as “Mechanical ventilation of enclosed parking area” (RWI = 2.15) and “Design for energy efficient deconstruction and recycling” (RWI = 1.84) that are more capital intensive. In addition, the index of willingness (relative willingness index of developers) on features that are associated with occupants’ comfort is higher than the index of willingness on features that confer more of environmental benefits.Practical implicationsThe study concludes by advocating that parliamentary arms of all tiers of government should formulate environmental policies and laws that will entrench sustainable practices in the building industry in the country.Originality/valueThis is one of the few studies on the willingness of major stakeholders to invest in green features, particularly in the Nigerian context.