Nigerian Studies Reveal Deep Structural Barriers to Circular Economy Transition in Construction Sector

Two new peer-reviewed studies led by Nigerian researcher Dr. Abdulkabir Opeyemi Bello are shedding light on systemic barriers slowing the adoption of circular economy principles in Nigeria’s rapidly expanding construction industry — with implications extending across Africa and other emerging economies. Published in the International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation (2024) and Smart and […]

Two new peer-reviewed studies led by Nigerian researcher Dr. Abdulkabir Opeyemi Bello are shedding light on systemic barriers slowing the adoption of circular economy principles in Nigeria’s rapidly expanding construction industry — with implications extending across Africa and other emerging economies.

Published in the International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation (2024) and Smart and Sustainable Built Environment (2025), the research identifies both industry-level and policy-level constraints preventing sustainable transformation in one of the country’s most economically significant sectors.

Globally, the construction industry accounts for nearly 40% of energy consumption and a substantial share of carbon emissions and solid waste. In fast-urbanizing nations such as Nigeria, construction growth is accelerating resource extraction, landfill pressure, and environmental degradation. Circular economy (CE) principles — centered on reducing waste, extending material lifecycles, reusing components, and improving resource efficiency are increasingly viewed as essential to meeting climate and development goals.
However, Bello’s first study found that Nigeria’s construction ecosystem faces 24 critical barriers to CE implementation. These obstacles span economic, regulatory, market, and technological domains. Among the most pressing challenges are weak policy enforcement, lack of financial incentives, fragmented supply chains, limited awareness among professionals, resistance to change, and inadequate infrastructure for recycling and material recovery.

“The findings show that the challenge is not technical feasibility,” said Dr. Bello. “The barriers are systemic — embedded in financial structures, institutional frameworks, and long-standing operational practices.”

Recognizing that industry constraints alone do not fully explain the slow transition, Bello and his co-authors, including construction engineer and researcher, Joyce Mdananebari Obuso Lewis, conducted a second study examining the perspectives of policymakers responsible for environmental and construction regulation.

Through qualitative interviews with 50 policymakers across Nigeria, the study revealed that while awareness of circular economy concepts exists at a conceptual level, implementation remains constrained by limited financial resources, weak enforcement mechanisms, regulatory gaps, infrastructure deficits, and coordination failures between government agencies.

Lewis emphasized the governance dimension of the findings:
“What we observed is a capacity and coordination gap. Policymakers understand circular economy principles, but there is insufficient institutional alignment to translate that understanding into consistent implementation.”

She added that effective transition requires stronger regulatory synchronization:
“Circular construction cannot advance in isolation. Federal and state agencies, environmental regulators, procurement bodies, and industry actors must operate within a coordinated policy architecture.”

Unlike many sustainability studies that focus solely on identifying barriers, the policymaker-focused research proposes a structured framework to accelerate CE adoption.

The framework outlines six pillars for transition: awareness and education, policy development and financial incentives, stakeholder collaboration, infrastructure investment, implementation and enforcement, and continuous monitoring and evaluation.
Financial mechanisms emerged as a particularly urgent intervention. Small and medium-sized enterprises dominate Nigeria’s construction market, and many lack the capital to invest in circular technologies without external support.
“Without targeted tax incentives, grants, or subsidies, the shift toward circular practices will remain slow,” Lewis noted. “Policy must reduce the financial risk of sustainability investments.”

While the studies focus on Nigeria, the researchers argue that the findings resonate across developing economies experiencing rapid infrastructure growth. Circular economy adoption in the Global South, they suggest, requires not only environmental ambition but institutional reform, regulatory modernization, education system integration, and sustained public-private collaboration.

If successfully implemented, circular construction practices could reduce emissions, create green jobs, strengthen domestic supply chains, and improve urban environmental health.
“For emerging economies, a circular economy is not simply an environmental agenda,” Lewis said. “It is a development strategy that can drive economic resilience and resource security.”

As global climate commitments intensify and urban populations expand, the research highlights a pivotal moment for policymakers across Africa. The path to sustainable construction, the authors argue, will depend on whether structural barriers are addressed through coordinated policy action.

“The roadmap exists,” Bello concluded. “What is needed now is institutional commitment to implement it.”