Challenges of implementing green procurement in public construction projects in Malaysia

Abstract

Abstract Although the concept of green procurement is increasingly debated as environmental policy instrument that considers the impact of procurement as well as the purchasing process for the sustainability of project development. However, the concept in Malaysia is still in its infancy and facing various barriers and challenges to make a paradigm shift towards greener approach. Therefore, this paper tends to determine the challenges that hinder the green procurement implementation. In addition, this study aims to develop a roadmap for implementing green procurement in building and infrastructure projects. This could pave the road to establish a transformation plan that could gradually overcome the current challenges in order to reach to the holistic level. The study is based on a survey conducted in Malaysian organizations at which 100 organizations were surveyed to determine their perspective on 40 pre-determined challenges. A number of 89 questionnaires were returned and 76 were valid responses. Results revealed that an excellent consistency on the significance of the current challenges. These are mainly due to the higher upfront cost associated with eco-products and services, gap existence between policy formulation and actual project delivery, lack of legislation to introduce mandatory influence for green adoption.