The major purpose of this study was to determine the needs for environmental friendly materials for building construction. The population of the study consisted mostly of big constriction firms in Anambra State that have had more than five years of active construction experience the sample for the study was 10 reputable construction firms which were drawn using simple random sampling. Four research questions and two hypothesis were formulated, which guided the study. A 30-item structured questionnaire was developed for data collection. Frequency count / percentages and weighted mean (likert scale) were used to answer the research questions, which chi-square was used to test the hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. It was concluded among others that environmental unfriendly building materials has serious negative impacts on the environment. Which needs an urgent attention in other to save the environment from global warming and other negative effects. Based on the findings and conclusions drawn from the study recommendations were made for Anambra State government to take a legislation that will help for effective use of environmental friendly material for building construction in Anambra State.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cover page

Title

Certification i

Approval iii

Dedication iv

Acknowledgment v

Abstract vi

Table of contents vii

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 Introduction 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Statement of the problem 2

1.3 Research aims and objectives 3

1.4 Significance of the study 4

1.5 Research question 4

1.6 Research Hypotheses 4

1.7 Study area 5

1.8 Definition of terms. 5

CHAPTER TWO

2.0 Literature Review 8

2.1 Negative Impacts

2.1.1 Extraction of raw materials

2.1.2 Construction Waste

2.1.3 Packaging

2.1.4 Transpiration

2.1.5 Use / Maintenance

2.2.0 Effects of using environmentally friendly material for building construction

2.2.1 Environmental friendly materials is describe by the dictionary as a product that has been designed to do the least possible damage to the environment.

2.2.2 Renewable source

2.2.3 Reusable or Recyclable

2.2.4 Locally available

2.2.5 Durability and Life Span

2.2.6 Energy Conservation

2.2.7 Improve Indoor Air quality

2.2.8 Reduce environmental Impact

2.3.0 Characteristics that determine the Environmental sustainability of given building materials

2.3.1 Life-Cycle Assessment

2.3.2 Pre-Building Phase

2.3.3 Building phase

2.3.4 Pose building Phase

2.3.4.1 To be reused in its entity

2.3.4.2 To be recycled or Down cycle

2.3.4.3 To be discarded

2.3.5 Features of environmentally friendly Materials

2.3.5.1 Pollution prevention measures

2.3.5.2 Waste Reduction Measures

2.3.5.3 Recycled content

2.3.5.4 Live cycle analysis for automobiles

2.3.6.1 Embodies energy measurement

2.4.0 Derivable benefits in using environmentally friendly materials for building constructions.

2.4.1 Reusability

2.4.2 Recyclability

2.4.3 Biodegradability

2.4.4 Re-education of construction waste

2.4.5 Energy Efficiency

CHAPTER THREE

3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 22

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Sources of data collection 28

3.2.1 Primary data 28

3.2.2 Secondary Data 28

3.3 Population of the study 29

3.4 Sample section technique 29

3.5 Research Methods 30

3.6 Methods of Investigation 31

3.7.0 Validity and Reliability of the measuring instrument 32

3.8.0 Administration of questionnaires and Retrievals 32

3.9.0 Method of Data Analysis 36

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 Cast study / Data Presentation / Analysis and Interpretation of data 37

CHAPTER FIVE

5.1 Findings, Conclusion and Recommendation 67

5.1.1 Summary of findings 67

5.1.2 The effects of using environmentally friendly materials

for building constructions 68

5.1.3 The characteristics that determine the environmental

sustainability of a given building materials 68

5.1.4 The derivable benefits in using environmentally friendly

materials for building construction. 69

5.2 Conclusion 69

5.3 Recommendations 70

References 71

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

In recent years more and more attention is being paid to the environmental impacts of building materials. The constantly increasing cost of energy and raw materials force the construction industry to think about alternatives such as renewable energy sources and raw materials and the reduction of wast.

Climate change and environmental pressures are major drivers for the promotion of environmental friendly materials.

Furthermore, this trend is spreading fast and the international document stating intent of being more environmental friendly one as presented. The Kyoto protocol, the energy performance of building directive of the EU, Eneergy Efficiency Directive. In line with the desire for environmental friendly materials, some government have change their legislation setting targets for the sustainability of public and residential buildings. On the other hand, statistics show that an important factor for the well-being of the inhabitants is the choice of building materials, “unhealthy” materials cannot only cause environmental problems but can equally cause asthma and cancer and therefore it is extremely important to choose low emitting building materials. We spend most of our times indoors and building materials influence the “health” and safety of the indoor environment.

The building industry in Anambra state is rapidly changing-new building materials are all the time emerging on the market and new construction techniques are being developed and more and more challenging designs are being developed to be built it in the expectation that the next building generation will be of low energy and sustainable building materials. The first step towards environmental friendly construction is the appropriate choice of building materials. This is a challenging task and which this research intends to investigate to ascertain the environmental impacts of the chosen materials before the design and construction phases.