Investigating the drivers and acceptance of sustainable materials in Kuwait: A case study of CEB

Sustainable practices in construction industry are still facing numerous challenges despite the continuous efforts and campaigns for sustainable construction worldwide. This study aims to investigate the drivers of sustainable construction in the Kuwaiti construction industry with focus on Compressed Earth Blocks (CEBs) as an alternative sustainable construction material. It also aims to explore the level of awareness and acceptance of sustainable construction material among different stakeholders. The research was organized in three phases. The first phase identified the main drivers from relevant literature and similar studies in the past. In the second phase, a questionnaire-based survey was designed and implemented based on the findings from the literature. Two different questionnaires were designed for the survey: the first one was dedicated for stakeholders with limited knowledge about technical aspects of construction industry (owners, clients, real estate companies) and the second one was dedicated for practitioners and specialists (construction companies, engineers, project managers). In the third phase, statistical analyses were performed to compare the influence of the drivers on the stakeholders’ choices. Friedman test and Bonferroni-Dunn test were used to statistically demonstrate the level of importance of the investigated drivers. The results showed that the most influencing drivers in the choice of sustainable materials from the practitioners’ perspective are “Energy Efficiency”, “Availability and Accessibility to Resources”, “Environmental Impact”, “Enhancement of Health and Safety” and “Knowledge and Skill of Personnel” with no significant difference, followed by the “Client Demands” and the “Cost Savings” then finally the “Awareness on Sustainability”. It was also concluded that the clients’ perspective ranked the “Cost Saving” and the “Enhancement of Health and Safety” as the most important drivers followed by the “Availability and Accessibility to Resources” and the “Environmental Impact”. The survey also showed that despite the poor level of awareness on environmental sustainability, the results related to the level of acceptance of sustainable construction materials are optimistic. This observation demonstrates the readiness/willingness of clients and practitioners to shift towards sustainable construction materials, but the lack of knowledge and awareness can be the most challenging barrier to more sustainable practices. Hence, it is believed that strategies for promoting sustainability in construction industry should start by spreading knowledge among all involved stakeholders.