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This paper intends to argue against the idea of an asocial business arena by reiterating the original philosophical underpinnings of theories on the creation of society, societal institutions and the relationship between society and societal institutions. This paper posits that business and ethics, though initially aligned, have been systematically maligned and distorted. The authors present a theoretically justified argument that business and ethics can and should seamlessly exist in the same realm.

This is a theoretical study that endeavors to go back to the original theories on business and society to challenge the view that business ethics is an oxymoron. For this purpose, the authors survey and interpret the scholarly works of Adam Smith, Aristotle and John Locke.

Given the economic debacles faced by the USA and the world economy in the past two decades, this study argues that one significant factor for these financial disasters could be that the original ideas about self-interest, societal interest, the free market system and the relationship between society and its constituting components, i.e. individuals, groups and institutions, have been distorted over time. Based on the interpretation of the original ideas around business and society, the authors find that some distortion of the original theories have indeed occurred.

This study is going against a well-established prevalent idea that business ethics is an oxymoron. It is claimed that the endoxa about business and its place in society often represents misinterpretations of the original ideas on the relationship between business and society. The originality of this work lies in challenging this dangerous idea by revisiting by journeying back in philosophical history to cut through the ideological scar tissue and reach the original arguments surrounding society and societal institutions.

Sustainable construction practices are strongly correlated with a profitable and competitive construction industry, improved client satisfaction and efficient use of resources. However, due consideration is not being given to sustainable construction practices in Nigeria. Therefore, this study aims to identify the unsustainable construction practices on construction sites, the barriers to sustainable construction and possible strategies to improve sustainable construction in Nigeria.

A questionnaire survey of 50 construction sites was conducted with construction professionals on the sites as the specific target, out of which only 43 construction sites have at least a construction professional present at the site. Forty-three filled questionnaires from the respondents were used for descriptive (mean score, standard deviation and charts) and inferential analysis (t-test and Kruskal–Wallis) in this study.

The study shows that a large percentage (75%) of construction professionals in Nigeria are aware of sustainable construction. The descriptive and inferential analysis showed a disparity in the ranking of the 12 unsustainable practices, 14 barriers and 11 strategies among the respondents. Five unsustainable practices (“negative externalities”, “excess energy”, “unsustainable technologies”, “non-management of health and safety of workers” and “material waste”), six barriers to sustainable construction (“absence of historical data and exemplary projects on which construction professionals can build and learn from”, “lack of professional to handle the task”, “poverty and low urban investment”, “lack of urban and construction policy”, “lack of awareness” and “lack of technical know-how”) and three strategies to improve sustainable construction practices in Nigeria (“cooperation, partnership and participation”, “protection of biodiversity and conservation of natural resources” and “sustainability assessment system”) were found to be significant.

The study offers significant insights into the construction industry unsustainable practices, barriers to sustainable construction, as well as strategies for improving sustainable construction practices. These insights can be applied to other developing countries with an emphasis on geographical differences.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the recent studies in Nigeria that explored the context of sustainable construction in the construction industry by providing insights into the unsustainable construction practices, barriers and strategies to improve sustainable construction in Nigeria.