Circular construction waste management and perceived urban environmental sustainability across Ghanaian Cities

Rapid urbanisation across sub-Saharan Africa has intensified construction and demolition waste pressures, yet evidence linking circular construction waste management (CCWM) to urban environmental sustainability remains scarce. This quantitative, cross-sectional study examined the statistical association between CCWM adoption and perceived urban environmental sustainability across five Ghanaian cities, drawing on Diffusion of Innovation theory, Institutional Theory and the Natural Resource-Based View. Data from 502 built environment professionals, recruited through stratified sampling with snowball supplementation, were analysed using hierarchical regression, MANOVA, K-means clustering and PROCESS mediation and moderation procedures. Adoption remained low overall (M = 2.87/5.00), with design for deconstruction (M = 1.93) and on-site source segregation (M = 2.19) least implemented. Three adopter groups emerged: non-adopters (21.3%), moderate adopters (54.5%) and advanced circular firms (24.2%). CCWM adoption was the strongest correlate of perceived sustainability (β = 0.412, p < .001), followed by regulatory enforcement (β = 0.289) and technological capability (β = 0.175); regulatory enforcement partially mediated the adoption-sustainability association (36%), and firm size moderated it. Significant inter-city differences favoured Accra over Tamale. Because the design is cross-sectional and self-reported, findings indicate statistical associations rather than causal effects, suggesting regulatory and technological levers merit priority attention. Because adoption remained low and was statistically associated with regulatory conditions, future interventions should be piloted, monitored and evaluated over time so that policy learning rests on measured outcomes rather than stated intentions.