Challenges of Sustainable Construction in Kuwait: Investigating level of Awareness of Kuwait Stakeholders

Buildings and associated construction methods have asignificant impact on the environment. As construction activityincreases in Kuwait, there is a need to create design and constructionstrategies which will minimize the environmental impact of newbuildings. Green construction is a design philosophy intended toimprove the sustainability of construction by the minimization ofresource depletion and CO2 emissions throughout the life cycle ofbuildings. This paper presents and discusses the results of a surveythat was conducted in Kuwait, with the objective of investigating theawareness of developers and other stakeholders regarding theirunderstanding and use of green construction strategies. The results ofthe survey demonstrate that whilst there seems to be a reasonablelevel of awareness amongst the stakeholders, this awareness is notcurrently well reflected in the design and construction practicesactually being applied. It is therefore concluded is there is a pressingneed for intervention from Government in order that the use ofsustainable green design and construction strategies becomes thenorm in Kuwait.