Sustainable Retrofits of Apartment Buildings: Developing a Process to Address the Barriers to Adoption

Abstract

The increase in the number of people living in apartments, combined with recent debate about the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has put pressure on managing bodies to adopt sustainable retrofits for common areas in apartment buildings. The literature posits that involving different stakeholders in the process and developing strategies to overcome the barriers to their implementation will increase the likelihood of adoption. As gaps exist in the literature, a mixed method approach using depth interviews and an online survey with apartment owners is used. The findings demonstrate that some stakeholders have different opinions and expectations with respect to adopting sustainable retrofits, with owners corporation (body corporate) committees members and apartment owners who live in the apartment being the most likely to encourage the adoption of such measures. To overcome the three main barriers to sustainable retrofits, namely, practicality, individuality, and responsibility, this paper recommends three steps be adopted. As well as identifying who are the initiators, an online information tool is needed, as well as financial and other incentives.