Barriers and drivers of sustainable building adoption and influencing factor dynamics: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Dilshi Dharmarathna, Victor Bunster, Peter Graham
Abstract
A holistic and collaborative approach is urgently needed to decarbonise the building sector and achieve Net Zero Carbon (NZC) targets in alignment with the Paris Agreement. What factors enable or hinder sustainable building (SB) from becoming mainstream practice? In response, this study conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis, which included a content analysis and influencing factor dynamics analysis of 49 high-quality articles. 60 barriers and 69 drivers of SB were identified and categorized them into seven groups informed by prior studies and the “Race to Zero Built Environment System Map”: Government related, Social related, Financial related, Technical related, Technology related, Knowledge related, and Environmental related. Based on the mean citation index, the three most significant barrier categories limiting SB include Financial/economy, Social/societal/cultural and Knowledge/training/research. The most significant driver categories enabling SB were identified as Knowledge/training/research, Social/societal/cultural and Technical/professional/market. Temporal analysis presented the evolution of the barrier and drivers of SB over the years. Pareto analysis highlighted the most significant barriers and drivers within each category. Notably, this study used statistical analyses to explore and map associations between SB barriers and drivers, as well as the built environment stakeholders, socio economic statuses, and geographic locations. Furthermore, this study highlighted potential theoretical, practical and policy related intervention points and implications for mitigation measures. This in-depth, holistic and integrated understanding of barriers and drivers of SB serves as an informative tool to the research community and future policy development. This study uniquely integrates Pareto analysis, temporal mapping, with stakeholder and contextual influential factor association analysis to prioritize and relationally map the dynamics of SB barriers and drivers. • 60 barriers and 69 drivers of sustainable building were identified. • Barriers and drivers of sustainable building were grouped into seven categories. • Pareto analysis revealed the most significant barriers and drivers. • Links with stakeholders, socio-economies and geographic locations were revealed.