Assessment of Construction Professionals Competence in Implementing Circular Economy Practices in the Nigerian Construction Industry

Abstract

The Nigerian construction industry faces significant environmental and sustainability challenges, which continue to impede resource efficiency, compromise environmental performance, and constrain sustainable development efforts. The adoption of Circular Economy (CE) practices presents a promising approach to addressing these issues, yet the competence of construction professionals to implement such practices remains underexplored. This study assesses the level of knowledge and the barriers to competence development in CE among Nigerian construction professionals. A quantitative research approach was adopted to carry out the study. Structured questionnaire was distributed to 110 professionals to evaluate self-assessed knowledge of CE principles and assess the barriers to implementation. The results indicated that while professionals show moderate familiarity with basic CE concepts, such as waste minimisation (MS = 3.86) and material reuse (MS = 3.62). However, there is a significant limitation in advanced competencies, such as lifecycle assessments (MS = 2.43) and the integration of CE principles into procurement practices (MS = 2.46). Furthermore, this study identifies the key barriers such as lack of awareness (MS = 4.30), insufficient educational coverage (MS = 4.25), and poor government policies (MS = 4.25), as major constraints to the effective application of CE in the industry. The findings highlight the need for comprehensive training programmes, policy reforms, and greater integration of digital technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM) to bridge these gaps. This study provides valuable insights for policymakers, educators, and industry stakeholders to support developing and adopting CE principles in the Nigerian construction industry.