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Several studies have shown that climate change is a threat to sustainable human living and high consumption of energy by buildings is a contributory factor. However, green practices in buildings have been proved as one of the successful technologies to mitigate global warming. Previous studies have shown lax green practices in developing countries’ buildings, but how far concerning green certification of buildings in Nigeria is yet to be explored. Therefore, this paper investigated the barriers to green certification of buildings (GCB). Also, the paper proposed a model for promoting GCB in Nigeria.

Eighteen experts with green building certification knowledge were engaged across three of Nigeria’s cities (Benin City, Abuja and Lagos) via scheduled WhatsApp video and teams calls. Collated interview data were analysed and presented in themes.

Findings show that there is an absence of a framework to promote GCB in Nigeria. Hence, GCB is low across the states. Twelve main sub-themes emerged as the barriers to GCB in Nigeria. Also, eight key sub-themes emerged as the possible concepts that can be used to improve GCB in Nigeria and formulated into a proposed framework to promote GCB in Nigeria.

This paper is limited to GCB in Nigeria and only 18 participants were engaged. Thus, this paper suggests that a mixed-methods approach should be conducted in future studies with wider coverage. This may assist to validate the paper’s findings.

Findings from this paper will stir up practitioners in green building and influence the promotion of GCB in the sector. As part of this study’s implications, suggestions through the paper’s proposed framework will benefit Nigeria’s policymakers to make decisions towards achieving GCB. This can be achieved via the proposed framework to promote the concept across Nigeria.

This paper is probably the first that attempted to investigate the barriers and proffer policy solutions via a framework to promote GCB in Nigeria and by extension in other developing countries.

Studies showed that construction consultants' ethical negligence is a contributing factor to the time and cost over-run of projects. There is limited research on the issues that may have hindered construction consultants' ethical responsiveness during contract administration. Studies regarding influencing factors in the context of Nigeria's quantity surveyors' (QS) ethical responsiveness are rare. Thus, the study aims to investigate the perceived issues and proffers initiatives to promote QSs' ethical responsiveness on construction projects in Nigeria.

To determine the perceptions of QS regarding ethical responsiveness, a phenomenologically driven perspective via face-to-face interviews was conducted with 12 senior professionals in Lagos and Abuja that showed interest in participating in the study and were interviewed. A thematic approach was adopted to analyse the collated data.

Economic, societal and professional issues emerged as the three groups of issues that hindered QS's ethical responsiveness on construction projects in a developing country setting such as Nigeria. Findings show that for ethical responsiveness to be expressed on projects, key stakeholders should be ethically responsible. This is currently missing, especially in public construction projects. Initiatives that can promote key stakeholders' ethical responsiveness on construction projects are examined in this paper.

The paper embraces an important practical implication because practices associated with QS's unethical responsiveness and behavioural impacts on construction projects were identified. This will stir both the regulatory professional bodies and policymakers to enforce and implement feasible initiatives that can promote key stakeholders' collaborative ethical responsiveness on construction projects.

This paper is amongst the few papers that attempted to uncover issues that hinder QS's ethical responsiveness on construction projects in a developing country setting via a qualitative approach. Since these issues are rampant in developing countries, findings from this paper can be used to promote QS's ethical responsiveness in other nations with similar unethical issues.

In less than a decade to Sustainable Development Goals, the urban solid waste (USW) emanating from households, especially in developing countries, calls for concern. Several policies have been suggested and some implemented, but the challenges facing USW management remain, especially in developing nations. Past studies demonstrated that the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies can be used to improve urban public services. The role of 4IR in mitigating the challenges of USW is yet to receive in-depth research in Nigeria. Thus, the study investigated 4IR role regarding mitigating the challenges facing USW.

Seven cities across Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory, were used as the study area to achieve the research objectives via a qualitative research design. Thirty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted from selected regulators, households, legislators, ICT experts, NGOs and waste managers. A thematic approach was adopted to analyse the collated data.

Findings group the USW challenges into five categories. The 4IR technologies can be used to manage USW; thus, they create an opportunity to integrate and promote sustainable clean cities.

This study is confined to the 4IR role concerning mitigating the encumbrances facing USW in Nigeria and proffered feasible policies to enhance a sustainable healthy environment.

Proffered policy solutions will stir policymakers and construction practitioners to think outside the box and offer and better understand how 4IR technologies can be utilised to mitigate those challenges. The outcome will create sustainable clean cities as part of the implication contribution to the body of knowledge.

Evidence from the reviewed literature shows a paucity of literature focussed on 4IR roles in mitigating the encumbrances facing USW in Nigeria. Therefore, this study contributes to the existing research work on 4IR concerning its role in enhancing USW in Nigeria and, by extension, to other developing countries.