Why Kenyans Are Hesitant to Adopt Green Building

Recent campaigns aimed at luring Kenyan builders into green buildings have borne little fruit, and experts are worried that only a few developers are constructing eco-friendly structures.

Green buildings, which are aimed at efficiency and sustainability throughout the life cycle, seem to have failed to win the attention of local developers, most of whom argue that buyers are unwilling to pay the true cost of a green home.

“Green building is yet to be profitable (in Kenya) since the cost of putting up an eco-friendly structure is exorbitant,” says Samuel Onyango, a local contractor, who adds that the government has failed to offer incentives for developers who are willing to go green.

Besides, the local construction industry, according to Simon Macharia – an architect, lacks uniform green building standards and guidelines that should be adhered to by developers.

The reluctance of Kenyan developers to go green has begun to worry the United Nations. Consequently, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in partnership with UN-Habitat, has launched an initiative to promote green construction named ‘Promoting Energy Efficiency in Building in East Africa’.

Through the programme, engineers, architects, and other professionals in the industry are being trained on different aspects of green buildings including the ability of structures to tap solar energy, use the natural flow of air, use natural light, and harvest rainwater.

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“We realised that although some players in the construction industry wished to go green, they were groping in the dark – not sure of what steps to take,” said Vincent Kizito, the head of UN-Habitat’s Urban Energy Unit.

“So far, we have managed to partner with several industry players and educated them on the practices to follow in green building.”

UN-Habitat has signed a pact with the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK), which offers technological measures and guidelines that players in the industry will take up to foster greater environmental responsibility.

In a bid to address the issue of the high cost of constructing green buildings, the UN is negotiating with State officials for the government to offer tax subsidies and incentives to importers of materials used in the construction of green buildings.

Furthermore, UN-Habitat is currently in talks with several banks over its proposal to have them provide green mortgages and construction loans at lower interest rates than current market rates for investors who wish to put up eco-friendly buildings.

Besides the UN, the Kenya Green Building Society – the country’s chapter of the World Green Building Council, has also been at the forefront in pushing for Kenya’s green building agenda.

The organisation comprises contractors, architects, and independent consultants who offer guidelines on the green agenda to member associates in addition to holding regular training workshops and has so far trained over 700 green building consultants.

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