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Organization & Environment
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Overcoming the Social and Psychological Barriers to Green Building

Andrew J. Hoffman

University of Michigan, ajhoff{at}umich.edu

Rebecca Henn

University of Michigan

The green building movement has overcome formidable, technical, and economic hurdles in recent years, yet adoption of green building practices within the design and construction field remains low. Major corporations now offer products and services at a scale that is bringing costs down to competitive levels, but environmental sustainability in building design and delivery remains at the early stages of the adoption s-curve. This article argues that environmental progress in the building design and construction industry will continue to stall if the significant social and psychological barriers that remain are not addressed. After surveying the three levels of barriers—individual, organizational, and institutional—the article concludes with strategies for overcoming them. Seven specific strategies are elaborated, namely, issue framing, targeting the right demographic, education, structural and incentive change, indemnifying risk, green building standard improvements, and tax reform.

Key Words: institutional theory • individual biases • corporate environmentalism • organizational culture and structure • organizational and institutional change • organizational innovation • built environment • LEED certification • green building movement • sustainable business.

Organization & Environment, Vol. 21, No. 4, 390-419 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1086026608326129
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