Users' preference for green features in office properties

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the preference of office property users for green features in Lagos, Nigeria. This is with a view to determining the degree of users' aspiration for green buildings in the country. Design/methodology/approach The study purposively sampled two office properties from the management portfolio of 88 registered estate firms in Lagos. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaire on two users purposively selected from each of the properties. The data were analyzed with the use of frequency distribution, percentages and measures of the users' preference index. Findings The results revealed that the preference for green features by office property users in the study area was above average (2.5 on a five-point scale). Feature relating to building ecology, waste and recycling is the most preferred feature with UPI of 3.970 while those relating to owner and occupant education with UPI of 3.558 were least in preference. Practical implications The paper concludes that with the preference of users for green features in the study area, it may be necessary for government to strengthen the existing framework for sustainable development. Also, increased sensitization of investors, users, professionals and other stakeholders in the building industry is pertinent to the success of green building practice in the country. Originality/value This is one of the few studies on users' preference for green features in emerging economy, particularly in the Nigerian context.