Firm processes

As a business entity, Multibrix remains very positive about the future prospects of the Nigerian construction sector. From the interviews, the concrete transformation processes initiated by Multibrix in order to develop its capabilities for delivering SC were not expressly stated. However, the company reports progressively talk about sustainability over the years.

The first mention of ‘Sustainability’ was made expressly in the annual report for the year 2010 and in the 2012 report, there were mentions of its award to construct LEED certified buildings in Nigeria. From the interviews, the sub-themes emerging under ‘Firm Processes’

are the capability building actions of learning and training, collaboration, and the control functions of creating specific sustainability roles, monitoring, documenting and reporting site activity for feedback. These implied processes are discussed in the following sections.

Policy

As a firm, while the awareness of SC exists within the organization, there are no formal commitments to sustainability such as implementing applicable policies or procedures.

However, there are bits of related policies such as health and safety and environmental policies that Multibrix have developed for its construction operations. The emphasis of the HSE policy is in reduction of Lost Time Injury (LTI), achieve zero fatalities and implement the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System. Multibrix make it clear that the motivation for this policy is its self-image as a market leader.

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“What I think separates Multibrix out from a lot of the society here is that we self-police ourselves in terms of those regulations. We, to a certain extent, exceed the regulations” … (DoO)

Learning

Multibrix over time has always prepared itself for the challenges of operating in a developing country like Nigeria. It conducts its own in house trainings which are high level, often times to the standards of a taught University Master’s degree.

“I…lecture for master(s) degree for colleagues. It is an internal study here in our company. It’s like a personal development programme and I have been responsible for one of this case, two times a year…” … (HTS)

While this is not referring to sustainability learning, it indicates that Multibrix is a very organic firm with solid structures in place to quickly adapt to fast changing environments.

The clearest example of learning about sustainability was by doing; i.e. implementing the construction of a LEED building in Nigeria under the tutelage of LEED certified personnel in their foreign subsidiary firm. According to the respondents, the undertaking of these projects has presented valuable learning experience for Multibrix and the learning experiences and contextual challenges are discussed in section 6.2.3.

Marketing/Creating awareness

The HTS claimed that the global economic meltdown of 2007/08 coupled with high energy (oil and gas) prices brought about a rethinking strategy within Multibrix to sensitize clients about ‘doing more with less’ and embracing sustainability. This position of the HTS goes further to illustrate the indigenous/foreign divide of perspectives. To the Western European personnel of Multibrix, the cost of energy prior to the boom period in 2008/09 was considered

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low. However, for indigenous businesses, the cost of fossil fuels to augment power generation is regarded as prohibitive. Multibrix recognised this and saw an opportunity to market to businesses that there were substantial gains of energy efficiency brought about by pursuing a sustainability agenda.

“…in 2007/08, nobody cares about energy (oil and gas). The cost for energy was very low here in Nigeria…and then the crises came up and the oil prices…I think in 2009, one barrel cost $140… and everybody was shaking a lot because if you have a building here in Nigeria, most of the people are using generators for their electrical energy but also for HVAC to cool the building and your bill was from one year to the other year, three times higher.” … (HTS)

The HTS gave an example of Multibrix’s marketing and awareness creation drive by citing a sustainability presentation to construction stakeholders in Lagos in 2013. The pitch was reviewed in this study and some of its extracts are contained in Box 5.2. While no evidence was tabled that this yielded any increased demand for sustainable buildings, there are clear signs of Multibrix’s recognition of this business potential, and their confidence, preparedness and capability to meet any potential client demand.

Box 5.2: Sustainability Pitch to Prospective Clients

The Head of Technical services highlighted the following reasons that should underpin a change in client’s requirements:

- Minimisation of life-cycle energy costs in response to rising energy costs - Reduction of CO2 emissions in response to increased carbon concentrations - Avoidance of pollutants in response to increased environmental degradation - Resource efficiency in response to decrease in availability of resources

The pitch also contained statistics for the effects of construction on the environment and different global sustainability assessment tools and potential gains of sustainability, especially energy efficiency. At the end of the pitch, Multibrix’s capabilities were expressed, citing its on-going LEED projects.

144 Creation of roles

The implementation of these LEED compliant projects required expertise that was not readily available locally in the Nigerian office of Multibrix. Thus, a team of knowledgeable experts with LEED certifications was set up in one of Multibrix’s foreign offices to collaborate with an on-ground team of local staff on the LEED projects. This is a form of technology transfer common with Multibrix’s operations in Nigeria over the years: expatriate staff with the requisite knowledge and experience are often recruited or drafted from the foreign office or country to provide the expertise on on-going projects.

Another clear indication of the recognition of the SC agenda by Multibrix was the creation of a specific role in the project office to handle the specific procurement of its sustainable buildings. The title of this role is the LEED champion and the role involved liaising with the foreign office to implement the steps necessary for complying with the LEED standards.

Other responsibilities attached to this role include the mentoring site staff, monitoring and documenting site activity as well as sending out daily progress reports to the team in the foreign office. The LEED champion comments on the sustainability role as thus:

“What I basically do is I go to site, I take pictures, I go around (the site) to make sure that they’re following the strategies according to the checklist¹⁸. I do this any day during the week and at the end of the day, I come to the office, (and) all this information I get from the site, from the pictures - because I take pictures regularly - I need to see, to get it all together in a way that at the end of the day, I’ll make out the report from it and then send it to (foreign office)” … (LC)

18 Based on LEED targets

145 Training

Part of the formal procedures set up at Multibrix on the LEED project is the organisation of brief or short in-house training sessions for the other local staff, especially the site operatives, artisans and tradesmen. This was to periodically to bring them up to speed with requirements of the ‘special sustainability project’ and it involved the use of site briefings, brief training activities and ‘pep talks’ before the commencement of site activities for the day.

“Just like the, we have a pep talk on health, safety and environment, HSE. So it’s to give them a small quick talk on awareness of LEED.” … (LC)

Monitoring and Control

On the LEED project, a checklist of site strategies based on the LEED standard was developed. A robust system of daily project reporting was set up to gather information on daily site progress. The methods of data collection include taking site pictures and documenting site activities for onward transmission to the overseas office.

“I’m working directly with them (foreign office). So they’ll feel like they’re here, walking through you know, in the sites with me. So it’s, it’s just basically going to site, getting all the information I need from pictures to having the small pep talk with the people on site to make sure they have an idea of what green construction is.” … (LC)

Reporting and feedback

The reporting forms a feedback loop that is channelled to foreign team whereby corrective or improved action can be taken on future stages of the project, or on new projects. The overseas office had LEED certified staff that provided technical and logistical support for the project.

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The reports were scrutinised for deviations from what was planned and control measures were implemented where necessary.

“… apart from the quick, small training and the pictures I take, I go around with my form to fill in events that I put also in my reports. At the end of the day, I come back to the office and then I put it together and make a report from it. (They) would review it (the reports) and say, ‘Oh, it is okay’ or ‘it’s not okay’ or ‘what do you think? Why don’t we do it this way?’ We always have meetings every week on (the) phone though.” … (LC)

With the site activities constantly being monitored and controlled, the Multibrix believes it is primed to meet future client demand for such types of green buildings.