Sustainability rules gaining steam
The Jamaica Observer reported calls from the head of the Incorporated Masterbuilders Association for clearer sustainability rules, suggesting incentives alone may not drive desired building practices. The article framed a move toward firmer standards in the construction and property environment. (jamaicaobserver.com)
Jamaica’s construction industry is pressing for mandatory sustainability rules, not just tax breaks and rebates, to shape how new buildings are designed and approved. (jamaicaobserver.com) At a Jamaica Observer event published April 12, 2026, Incorporated Masterbuilders Association president Richard Mullings asked whether Jamaica should add “stick” to the “carrot” of incentives. He directed the point to Gregory Bennett, deputy chief executive officer of the Spatial Planning Division at the National Environment and Planning Agency. (jamaicaobserver.com) Mullings said green building choices often involve public benefits, including lower energy use and wider environmental gains, so a profit-driven market may not move fast enough on incentives alone. The association he leads describes itself as the voice of Jamaica’s construction industry. (jamaicaobserver.com, imaj.org.jm) Jamaica already has a national building framework in place. The Building Act took effect in January 2019, and it made each municipal corporation the local building authority responsible for administering and enforcing the law and the National Building Code. (jis.gov.jm, dunncox.com) That code now includes an energy-efficiency section. The 2023 Jamaica Building Code published through the International Code Council includes Chapter 13 on energy efficiency, showing that sustainability has already entered the formal rulebook even as industry figures argue enforcement and clarity still lag. (codes.iccsafe.org, codes.iccsafe.org) The push comes as Jamaica ties climate policy more directly to buildings. A 2025 Green Building Toolkit from Inter-American Development Bank Invest said the sector faces gaps in technical capacity, financing, regulatory implementation, and locally adapted green-building knowledge. (idbinvest.org) Government agencies have been moving on the same terrain. The National Environment and Planning Agency says its role is to promote sustainable development, and Jamaica Information Service reported in September 2025 that the agency was urging businesses and citizens to support the country’s shift toward a circular economy. (jis.gov.jm, jis.gov.jm) Local authorities still control the permit gate. Jamaica’s official building-plan guidance says a building permit is required to construct, extend, modify, or renovate a structure, which means any tougher sustainability standard would likely matter most at the approval stage. (localauthorities.gov.jm, localauthorities.gov.jm) Industry and government have also been talking about resilience after recent storms. In November 2025, the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation proposed revisions and sustained enforcement under the Building Act to strengthen climate resilience after Hurricane Melissa. (jis.gov.jm) The immediate question is no longer whether Jamaica has sustainability language on paper. It is whether builders, planners, and regulators turn that language into rules that are clear enough to enforce and costly enough to ignore at their peril. (jamaicaobserver.com, dunncox.com)
