Green Building Practices and Innovative Business Development in South-East, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of green building practices on innovative business development in South-East Nigeria. The study was driven by the growing need for sustainable construction methods that minimize environmental degradation while fostering innovation and economic growth. Specifically, the research examined the influence of six green building practices energy efficiency, water conservation, sustainable material usage, waste diversification, indoor environmental quality, and site sustainability on innovativeness among businesses in the region. A descriptive survey design was adopted, and data were collected from a population of 2,000 builders and construction professionals, with a sample size of 341 respondents selected using multistage sampling. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, particularly multiple regression analysis, with the aid of SPSS version 2023. The findings revealed that all six green building practices had significant positive effects on innovativeness. Energy efficiency had a beta of 0.312, t = 6.276, p = 0.000; water conservation practice recorded the strongest influence with β = 0.369, t = 7.501, p = 0.000; sustainable material usage had β = 0.241, t = 5.023, p = 0.000; waste diversification showed β = 0.196, t = 3.755, p = 0.000; indoor environmental quality had β = 0.107, t = 2.212, p = 0.028; and site sustainability practice exhibited β = 0.266, t = 5.105, p = 0.000. The overall regression model was statistically significant (F = 53.323, p < 0.05) with an R² value of 0.326, indicating that 32.6% of the variation in innovativeness was explained by these variables. The study concluded that adopting integrated green building practices significantly enhances organizational innovation and sustainable business development in South-East Nigeria.