Factors Influencing the Willingness of Construction Companies to Adopt
Green Building Technology in the Philippine Urban Setting: An Exploratory
Factor Analysis Approach
Allen Grace C. Veloso
1st Year MSCE Student, College of Engineering and Technology, MSU – IIT
Abstract
The Philippines is among several countries that aspire to become a sustainable nation promoting green
practices. Going green entails embracing the emergence of green building technology (GBT) in the
advancement of construction techniques. However, there are drivers and barriers to the adoption of GBT
by various construction companies in the Philippines. This study aims to elaborate on the development of
valid and reliable constructs relevant to factors influencing the decision of construction companies to adopt
GBT through exploratory factor analysis in view of suggesting a strategic plan to align with the sustainable
development goal of the country.
I. Introduction
The quest for the development of the built environment constitutes an imbalance of the environmental
factors resulting in adverse effects ranging from the displacement of ecological habitats to the omnipresent
threat of greenhouse gas emissions (Ametepey & Ansah, 2015). Green and sustainable buildings are the
current trend that has been promoted vigorously. Its core is to create a green and sustainable dwelling place
for human beings by using rational plans and designs bearing the concept of environmental protection
(Behnam, 2017). The Philippines has also established its green building rating system known as the
Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence (BERDE) which provides responses to the
ecological needs of the Philippine environment and mitigates the impact of buildings by facilitating
environment-friendly and greener designs (Culiao, et al., 2018). Green buildings have high requirements
for their full lifecycle and the conventional design-bid-build technique lacks systematic mechanisms to
ensure that the actual performance of the building falls to the green criteria. The work of Almeida, et al.
(2016) has extensively invigorated the application of intelligent solutions in construction industries that
introduces a conceptual industry-transformation framework. From the traditional labor-intensive, costintensive, and energy-intensive practices, a transition to enhanced automation and the use of digital
technologies is significant to keep up with the digital era at the same time stands for the various aspects of
construction that need to be implemented to reduce environmental impacts and realize green and sustainable
buildings.
Construction firms in the Philippines have been slowly embracing the concept of digital transformation and
green practices, and investment opportunities are opening to further realize the transition to a low-carbon
economy (Asian Development Bank, 2020). However, few construction companies are still reluctant to
adopt this trend. Thus, this research will explore the underlying factors that affect the willingness of
construction companies to adopt green building technologies (GBT) in the Philippines which will greatly
contribute to the body of knowledge in the light of suggesting a strategic plan to elevate sustainability in
the construction industry. The utilization of exploratory factor analysis will find the simplest way to
interpret the relationships between observed factors to easily comprehend the data for future research.
II. Review of Related Literature
The Philippines is among the few developing countries that have a holistic commitment to seeking ways to
eliminate the harmful effects of built structures and improve the quality of construction services. The
Philippine Green Building Council (PHILGBC) launched the BERDE Program, a nationally recognized
voluntary green building rating system to assess the performance of a built asset, which is an example of
the amelioration of the country’s pursuit of going green (Aurellado, 2015). Additionally, the enactment of
the Green Building Code of the Philippines (GBCP) is one of the most pronounced efforts of the Philippines'
advancement in green building. The Philippine Government's pledge to cut carbon emissions by 70% in
2030 is supported by DPWH promising to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy and water usage
by at least 20%.
Over a third of global greenhouse gas emissions and 40% of total energy consumption worldwide are
attributed to buildings. Green building technologies address these issues by integrating technologies and
techniques into the built asset and its whole lifecycle to alleviate its impact on the environment (Gibberd,
2020). However, several factors undermine the advantages of green building technologies. For example,
Amuda-Yusuf, et al. (2020) discussed some factors inhibiting the adoption of GBT. Among these, includes
the adequacy of institutions to formulate policies and set guidelines, sufficient information about green
products and high-performance building systems, the level of awareness concerning sustainability issues,
and human resource and client knowledge. The same study also included the absence of a green building
regulatory body as the major factor that impedes the adoption of green building technologies. Previous
studies also mentioned that the higher cost of integrating green designs, the delay incurred by green
requirements, and the limited availability of reliable suppliers were the most dominant factors that hamper
the incorporation of green specifications in the construction industry (Lam, et al., 2009). Other related
research has acknowledged that a lack of users’ knowledge and experience of green practices, resistance to
change, and a lack of government incentives to support and construct green buildings also have a significant
influence on choosing GBT (Du et al. (2014) & Ahn et al. (2013) as cited in Nikyema & Blouin, 2020). On
the contrary, previous studies have investigated the driving factors to promote the wider adoption of GBTs.
Darko, et al. ( 2017) conducted a comprehensive literature review and came up with five major driving
forces including setting a standard for future design and construction, greater energy efficiency, improved
occupants’ health and well-being, non-renewable resources conservation, and reduced whole-life cycle
costs. It is vital to understand these factors as this will be a stepping stone toward the goal of reshaping the
policies and green practices in the construction industry in developing economies (Tran, et al., 2020).
III. Methodology
The main purpose of this study is to explore the factors influencing the willingness of construction
companies to adopt green building technology in the Philippines. To obtain this, the study uses a literature
review and a questionnaire survey as its main method of data collection. The study will be conducted in
Metro Manila, Philippines. The main reason for choosing this study area is because the majority of
infrastructure projects are centered in the capital region of the Philippines. According to the 2018 Census
of Philippine Business and Industry, the country listed 2,487 establishments engaged in construction and
the National Capital Region (NCR) topped among the other regions which account for 949 establishments
(PSA, 2021). Also, the city is home to most of the Philippines’ green-certified buildings which can
contribute valuable insights relevant to the acceptance of GBTs in the country.
Questionnaire design and data collection
The online questionnaire survey approach will be used as a systematic way of data collecting to elicit
professional opinions on the factors influencing the adoption of green building technologies in construction
(Nikyema & Blouin, 2020). The survey questionnaire will be composed of three parts. The first part is
intended to explain the purpose of the research. The second part will gather general information about the
respondents comprising demographic questions. The last part gathers information on the respondents’
perception of adopting GBT. The factors that have been aggregated from the literature review that may
have an impact on the adoption of green construction techniques will form the basis of the survey
questionnaire. A 5-point Likert scale will be employed to indicate how much the respondents will agree or
disagree. The questionnaire will be distributed by email to selected construction companies in Metro
Manila. The respondents who will be invited to answer the questionnaire are limited to experienced
practitioners in the construction field (i.e., the project manager, architect, and engineers).
Data analysis
To determine the outcomes of this research, appropriate methods and statistical tools will be used in data
analysis. The utilization of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) will assess and provide empirical verification
of the factorial validity (construct) and remove subpar variables (observed variables) to increase the
likelihood and goodness-of-fit for the results (Johnson & Winchern, 2007). For this study, EFA will be
performed in R using RStudio 2022.07.1 Build 554 environment to identify the latent variables of GBT
adoption and reduce the data into controllable size. Further, reliability analysis through Cronbach’s AlphaCoefficient will be performed to assess the internal reliability and consistency of the measurement
(Zulkepli, et al., 2017). The result of this study will supply prior knowledge of the measurement model
which can be integrated into the next phases of analysis for future research endeavors.
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