INVESTIGATING EVIDENCE OF SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT, LIFE CYCLE COST EFFICIENCY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE IN THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY ABUJA, NIGERIA

The building industry is a significant contributor to global resource consumption and emissions, accounting for a significant portion of energy demand and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Sustainable public procurement is promoted progressively, as a challenging driver for cleaner production because these procurement decisions shape the choices of materials, behavior of contractors, and the impacts of life cycles. However, in most developing countries, it is still not clear whether sustainable procurement translates into measurable life cycle cost efficiency in public construction systems. The effects of sustainable procurement practices on life cycle cost efficiency and environmental performance in public construction projects in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory was evaluated. A mixed-method design was used, and evidence from survey data of 350 procurement and construction stakeholders, project-level evidence from 60 completed public projects, and semi -structured expert interviews were utilized. The data was analyzed using quantitative tests including correlation, t-test, and regression, and the results indicate that sustainable procurement is associated with significantly better environmental performance and improved life cycle cost efficiency. The findings explain that mechanisms such as cleaner production practices, waste prevention, enhanced energy efficiency, and upstream supplier and material selection provide more insights into these relationships. At the same time, they highlight essential constraints which include price-dominated tendering processes, limited life cycle costing capability, and organizational risk aversion. The study concludes that integrating sustainable procurement with life cycle cost consideration significantly enhances environmental performance and long-term value in public construction projects. It recommends that life cycle procurement frameworks that prioritize low-carbon materials be institutionalized