Characterisation of the drivers of environmental management system implementation

Purpose The detrimental impacts of the construction industry activities, namely, toxicity of cement and concrete to the health of construction workers and the general public, have been reported in previous studies. Several environmental management measures were put in place by international organisations to reduce these impacts on humans and the entire ecosystem. Sadly, such environmental management measures are not widely embraced in the construction industry of developing countries. This contributes to the poor quality of life of construction stakeholders, amongst other outcomes. Therefore, this study investigated the drivers to facilitate an environmental management system (EMS) in the Nigerian construction industry (NCI). Design/methodology/approach questionnaires retrieved from construction professionals in the micro, small, medium and large enterprises were used to conduct both descriptive and inferential statistics, namely, mean score, standard deviation, Kruskal-Wallis H test, post hoc test and factor analysis. Findings The analyses show that the drivers of EMS implementation in the NCI could be grouped into intellectual enhancement strategies, documentation and cultural strategies, and motivation and tracking strategies. The study concluded that training and education of relevant stakeholders, tracking compliance levels of organisations and recognising firms acting in compliance with stipulated "environmental" policy are essential. It was recommended that the collaboration of all construction stakeholders be upheld to aid EMS implementation in the NCI. Originality/value This paper investigated the drivers of EMS with the opinions of construction professionals in the mainstream of the NCI through survey using to ensure wide coverage of respondents. Investigating the view of construction professionals in the micro, small, medium and large enterprises helped determine possible significant differences. Thus, practical implications of the study were also provided in a systematic manner.