The construction industry (CI) has been identified globally to enhance the quality of life and aid economic growth. The sector remains a significant employer and provider of employment opportunities thereby improving the socio-economic status of the people (Murray and Dainty, 2009). The CI provides infrastructures, buildings, and other basic and social amenities that have benefited mankind (Azis et al., 2012). As reported by Miller. (2002), the St. Louis construction industry’s employment increased during the period when Trans World Dome and Kiel Center were built. Also, the sector plays a significant role in the overall economic development of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by contributing 14% to the gross domestic product (Faridi and El-Sayegh, 2006). As affirmed by Pero et al. (2017), the CI is the biggest industrial sector in the United States and Europe. Despite its multidimensional and complex nature (Ofori, 2000), the CI is key to globalization, industrialization, and achieving sustainable development. Owing to its numerous beneficial impacts on the human environment, the sector is continually financed, improved, and invested in by public and private entities with little or no regard for their environmental impacts. As indicated by Raftery et al. (1998), there is an increase in vertical incorporation of construction projects, private sector participation in construction projects, and foreign participation in domestic construction projects. To further establish the importance of the construction industry in the present fourth industrial revolution (4IR) era has also seen a massive influx and deployment of technologies and approaches with a high environmental footprint. This has led to the manifestation of dual impacts (positive and negative) on the environment by the CI.

It is common knowledge that the CI is directly linked to employment creation, socio-economic growth, and economic development globally. However, most of the processes and activities engaged by the sector are negatively impacting the natural environment. There are several adverse impacts of the CI as established in the literature. As summarized by Fuertes et al. (2013), these environmental impacts can be categorized as water emissions, waste generation, resource consumption, soil alteration, transport issues, local issues, effects on biodiversity, incidents, accidents, and emergencies, and lastly atmospheric emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). A major negative impact of the CI is construction-related accidents. According to Yan et al. (2020), construction accidents result in injuries, deaths, and grave financial consequences. High energy consumption and pollution are also other negative impacts of the CI. Interest in environmental health globally has been linked to noise pollution emanating from construction sites (Hamoda, 2008). Energy consumed in extracting, processing, and transporting construction raw materials results in increased pollution (Morel et al., 2001). The embodied and operational energy usage in the CI has been identified as one of the factors responsible for the continued rise in the atmospheric carbon footprint (Lawrence, 2015). Due to the persistent use of conventional materials, there has also been an increase in the construction and demolition waste (CDW) generated by the CI. From a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) standpoint, the environmental impact of CDW is quite severe on both the human and natural environment (Coelho and de Brito, 2012). According to Benachio et al. (2020), the global CI is accountable for 25% of solid waste and 30% of the extracted natural resources. However, the study of González and Navarro. (2006) indicated that carbon dioxide emissions due to construction processes and operations are very noticeable and more profound. With the increasing release of GHGs into the atmosphere thereby precipitating ozone layer depletion, unnatural climate change, and global warming, it is imperative to urgently tackle these menaces. Hence, global attention is now on sustainability and digitalization as a means of addressing the adverse impacts of the CI.

Compared to the telecommunication, retail, and manufacturing sectors, the CI is one of the least digitalized industries with a low-level adoption of emerging technologies (Oguntona et al., 2022; Regona et al., 2022). There are several factors such as low awareness and age-long culture of resistance to change hindering the adoption of these technologies. However, the present 4IR era has seen the CI gradually integrating and utilizing emerging technologies to curb and minimize the environmental footprint of the sector. A few of these advanced technologies include robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), internet-of-things (IoT), blockchain, building information modeling (BIM), big data, autonomous vehicles, smart wearable technologies, and virtual and augmented reality among others (Perera et al., 2020; Abioye et al., 2021; McNamara and Sepasgozar, 2021; Opoku et al., 2021; Regona et al., 2022). Also, the global call for the adoption and implementation of sustainability in the CI is a major panacea to the negative environmental impacts exhibited by the sector. Likewise, there is mounting pressure on construction entities to ensure sustainability is an important consideration in the firm’s decision-making processes (Afzal et al., 2017). In addition, several challenges are hindering the transition to sustainability in the CI, and they can be categorized from the perspective of either operational, managerial, or strategic (Lima et al., 2021). Therefore, a truly sustainable CI is the solution to minimizing the negative impacts of the sector on the environment.

The sustainability concept has been widely preached and introduced into the CI. This is in response to the adverse impacts of the sector on both human and natural environments. Sustainable construction (SC) is a path through which the CI attains sustainable development (SD) by considering cultural, environmental, and socio-economic issues (Majdalani et al., 2006). Several terms are found in the literature to be used interchangeably with SC. These terms are green building (GB), sustainable building (SB), sustainable architecture, green construction, green, environmental or eco-friendly, and integrated design among others (Azis et al., 2012; Kubba, 2012; Zabihi et al., 2012; AlSanad, 2015; Kibert, 2016). SC entails a cradle-to-grave process in construction involving many role players while embracing technological and non-technical responses to social and economic sustainability, emphasizing environmental protection, and enhancement of individuals’ and communities’ quality of life (Du Plessis, 2007). The environmental aspect of sustainability has been majorly concentrated upon in the CI because its adverse impacts have been severe ecologically. As affirmed by Zabihi et al. (2012), the rationale behind sustainability in the CI is to focus on ecological conditions to achieve a built environment with maximum eco-friendly attributes that can counter the adverse impacts of the sector. It is therefore important to embrace SC in a manner that the triad of environmental, social, and economic issues are holistically addressed in the CI. As corroborated by Yip Robin and Poon. (2009), a sustainable culture among the stakeholders is imperative to driving the sustainability agenda in the CI. Hence, the clamor for the adoption and implementation of SC has led to the postulation of several practices or trends to aid the drive. A few of these are biomimicry, life cycle assessments , lean construction, whole building design, biophilia, ecological footprint, ecological rucksack, embodied energy, net-zero energy buildings, passive design, sustainable construction, resilience, environmental product declarations (EPDs), industrial ecology, the Natural Step, Factor 4 and Factor 10, life-cycle costing, construction ecology, eco-efficiency, the precautionary principle, and carrying capacity among others (Ortiz et al., 2009; Alves et al., 2012; Blizzard and Klotz, 2012; Kibert, 2016; Kibert and Fenner, 2017). These SC practices or trends in one way or another contribute their quota towards achieving sustainability. While most of them concentrate on an aspect of sustainability, some are aimed toward addressing the economic, environmental, and social aspects. However, biomimicry stood out among the list as one with the overarching goal of sustainability that is all-encompassing. Biomimicry as a concept solely focuses on and promises absolute sustainability (Ilieva et al., 2022).

The natural environment is a vast repository of innovative and sustainable ideas to solve the numerous challenges facing humanity. Natural organisms have been able to sustain themselves for over 3.8 billion years because of their capacity to address the countless issues they face. The abilities in nature to regenerate, sustain, overcome, and proffer sustainable solutions to their challenges which are like what the human environment is grappling with is what the biomimicry concept is premised upon. The knowledge, adoption, integration, and implementation of biomimicry thinking are therefore significant in today’s world owing to the alarming rate of environmental degradation and rapid climate change occurrence (Jamei and Vrcelj, 2021). Since it became popularized, the concept of biomimicry has been successfully applied globally across disciplines. According to Aboulnaga and Helmy. (2022), biomimicry is one of the biologically rooted sustainable mechanisms that aids the creation of an eco-friendly built environment. With nature consciousness instilled in humanity through the practice of biomimicry, a clear path towards sustainability is assured especially in the built environment discipline. Hence, this paper is aimed at exploring the avenues of nature inspiration, imitation, and emulation through which biomimicry thinking can accelerate the transition of the CI to a truly sustainable state. The next section gives a glimpse of the natural world, followed by an overview of the biomimicry concept, and lastly biomimicry thinking vis a vis nature as a source of inspiration, imitation, and emulation for sustainability. The paper will also explore the examples of innovative solutions, ideas, and technologies that are birthed as a result of biomimicry thinking through nature’s inspiration, imitation, and emulation.

What are the avenues and strategies through which biomimicry can achieve its overarching goal of sustainability in the CI? To address this research question, this paper presents a review of relevant literature on the genius of nature and how it informs the biomimicry potential to aid the achievement of sustainability in the CI. According to Snyder. (2019), a literature review offers an exceptional mode of synthesizing findings from research to present evidence and unravel areas for further research which is critical to establishing theoretical and conceptual models. A critical analysis of the literature about nature and biomimicry vis-a-vis sustainability was conducted. Scholarly publications such as books, book chapters, journal articles, conference proceedings, and relevant resources from websites constitute the literature for this paper. Based on the examples of existing guidelines for conducting a literature review as presented by Snyder. (2019), Figure 1 presents a pictorial representation of the integrative literature review approach employed in this paper. The integrative literature review approach was used to critique and synthesize the subject of nature and biomimicry. The analysis and evaluation were qualitative and the examples of contribution were duly classified. Also, the AskNature database which is home to the ever-growing record of biological abstractions was utilized alongside published scholarly articles to present relevant nature-inspired innovative breakthroughs. These innovative technology solutions provide credence to the successful application and implementation of biomimicry thinking for sustainability in the CI.

The natural environment has been a victim of the human environment’s parasitic relationship over the years. Human beings significantly depended on nature for everything ranging from food, shelter, security, and medicine among others. To pave the way for civilization and industrialization (with the construction of industrial, residential, religious, commercial, hospitality, and leisure facilities), the natural ecosystems are continually destroyed by humans leading to deforestation, the extinction of rare animals and plants, desertification, increased emission of GHGs, climate change, soil erosion, drought, flooding, and a host of other challenges. According to Zang et al. (2011), the goals of achieving socioeconomic development and improved quality of life are solely responsible for the degradation of the natural ecological systems. Therefore, it is imperative to consider the natural environment in every industrialization and urbanization drive to maximize the numerous deposits of benefits in the natural ecosystems. Since the human environment depends on nature for survival (food, water, air, etc), it is therefore imperative to ensure the conservation and preservation of the natural ecosystem.

The natural ecosystem is known to be a perfect or balanced system. This implies that the relationship that exists between the different constituting organisms ensures the stability of the ecosystem or the natural environment. Significantly, the flora and fauna of a natural ecosystem are heavily and cordially dependent on each other for survival and regeneration. For example, plants are known to deter the event of soil erosion, provide shelter, indirectly or directly provide nutrients to living organisms, and improve air quality by consuming carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen which is pivotal to the survival of humans and animals. There are also indoor plants that are utilized as a cost-effective indoor air purification mechanism (Damiati et al., 2022). Forests are also known for carbon sequestration, capture, and storage. The natural ecosystem is of immense value and benefit to the human environment through the various services they offer. According to Youmatter. (2020), the natural ecosystem offer four main services namely: regulating services (waste decomposition, crop pollination, pests and diseases control, regulation and purification of air and water, and climate regulation); provisioning services (renewable energy, food, water, and biochemicals, pharmaceuticals and industrial products). Others are cultural services (ecotourism, scientific discoveries, inspiration for spiritual, intellectual, and creativity purposes) and supporting and habitat services (primary reproduction, and seed and nutrient dispersal). Therefore, by attaining ecological sustainability and conservation of native biodiversity (Kuuluvainen, 2009), an array of opportunities to draw innovative solutions to human challenges will be possible.

Based on the numerous sustainable and amazing features exhibited by the natural ecosystem, the potential for innovative ideas to solve human challenges can be inferred and extracted through avenues of either or all of nature’s inspiration, imitation, or emulation. As corroborated by Hart. (1980), the natural ecosystem can be utilized as a rich source of informative ideas through the selective application of its principles. Nature principles (also known as Life’s principles) are the distinct attributes of natural organisms that enable them to thrive, live and survive sustainably and cordially in their over 3.8 billion years of existence. The study of Jacome Pólit. (2014) describes these principles as the abstracted forms, processes, functions, and strategies domiciled in natural organisms that ensure their regeneration. However, the book by Janine M. Benyus titled Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature and published in the year 1997 presented the nine (9) principles of nature. These principles resonate that nature runs on sunlight; nature recycles everything; nature uses only the energy it needs; nature fits form to function; nature demands local expertise; nature banks on diversity; nature taps the power of limits; nature rewards cooperation; and nature curbs excesses from within (Neill, 2018). These principles are what inform the formulation of biomimicry principles.

Despite the novelty surrounding the concept of biomimicry, the idea of learning and applying the knowledge gained from natural ecosystems dates to ancient times. Strategies in natural organisms were examined and adapted by early humans to meet their housing, security, health, food production, and agricultural needs among others (Murr, 2015). Numerous inventions and technologies of the past were influenced by the study of natural models thereby establishing that nature’s inspiration, imitation, and emulation started before the emergence of westernization (Dicks et al., 2019). An example is the use of animal representation and stylized leaves for the decorative and symbolic ornamentation of ancient edifices such as the Neolithic Gobekli Tepe, Greek temples, and the Egyptian Great Sphinx of Giza (Browning et al., 2014). The Greco-Roman dispensation also saw plants and trees as sources of inspiration to architects in the design of columns with a structural resemblance to tree trunks (Freitas and Leitão, 2019).

Biomimicry is used interchangeably with other terms that describe the concept of studying and learning from nature. Some of the terms are biomimetics, biophilic architecture, bio-inspired design, bio-inspiration, bionics, biomimesis, biognosis, bioanalogous design, and biophilia (Garcia, 2017; Graeff et al., 2019; Lee and Baek, 2019). Biomimicry is described by Jamei and Vrcelj. (2021) as a multidisciplinary field of science that encourages a robust collaboration between different stakeholders including engineers and biologists in creating sustainable solutions to human challenges. The study of ElDin et al. (2016) defines biomimicry as the study of strategies, procedures, systems, and elements in the natural ecosystem to solve human challenges. According to Benyus. (1997), biomimicry entails the exploration and copying of nature’s geniuses such as photosynthesis, self-cleaning, and self-assembling to solve the challenges facing humanity. Similarly, Araque et al. (2021) describe it as an imitation science that combines engineering and biology to achieve the goal of sustainability for human development. Several barriers have been identified in the literature to impede the adoption and practice of biomimicry in the CI and other sectors. According to the study of Oguntona and Aigbavboa. (2019a), the four underlying factors hindering biomimicry adoption are knowledge-related, regulations-related, risk and cost-related, and information and technology-related. Also, lack of training and education, lack of awareness, and lack of professional knowledge is further identified as barriers to biomimicry adoption in the CI (Oguntona and Aigbavboa, 2019b). The analysis of the barriers identified in these two studies revealed a similar trend of a lack of a clear template and guidelines to adopt in the incorporation and implementation of biomimicry thinking for sustainability in the CI. For the overarching goal of sustainability to be achieved, Benyus. (1997) further indicated that the human relationship with nature must be from the three dimensions of “model, measure, and mentor”. By relating to the natural world as a model, the amazing attributes of natural organisms are studied and followed as a template to inspire the birth of novel sustainable solutions to human challenges. Nature as a measure on the other hand entails the assessment of innovations, ideas, technologies, solutions, and designs against Nature or Life’s principles to establish their sustainability compliance level. Lastly, by perceiving nature as a mentor, the natural ecosystem and organisms are constantly consulted as a rich database and source of innovative ideas for inspiration, emulation, and imitation. When the views and relationship of human beings and the natural environment are centered on these three dimensions (model, measure, and mentor), the level of environmental degradation and exploitation is bound to significantly diminish.

Numerous kinds of research studies have indicated that nature is an embodiment of amazing and outstanding algorithms and solutions that requires diligent extraction and application to solve human challenges (Zang et al., 2010). According to Yan et al. (2021), biomimicry provides a viable blueprint for proffering innovative and eco-friendly solutions by learning from nature’s geniuses’ forms, principles, and models. Therefore, a successful abstraction and application of the biomimicry thinking concept will require a relationship with nature from the model, measure, and mentor perspectives. Hence, to maximize the vast potential of biomimicry to inform a seamless transition to sustainability in the CI, it is important to explore the triple avenues of nature inspiration, imitation, and emulation. Figure 2 shows a graphical representation of biomimicry’s thinking path to sustainability or sustainable development. It can be seen from the figure that the potential of biomimicry to achieve sustainable development can only be achieved when the trio of nature inspiration, emulation, and imitation is engaged fully as detailed in Section 5.1. The study of MacKinnon et al. (2020) also affirmed that biomimicry has the potential for sustainability, innovation, and transformation. The study performed a text-mining technique on 19 Biomimicry Global Network (BGN) web pages and created a word tree of quotes. Table 1 presents these attributes of biomimicry under the heading of its potential for sustainability, innovation, and transformation. The next section provides an overview and exploration of biomimicry thinking from these three contexts.

This article sets out to explore biomimicry potentials in sustainably addressing human challenges through responsible imitation, emulation, and drawing inspiration from nature. Despite the various global sustainability agendas, the negative impact of the CI on the environment remains on the increase. Without a decisive and urgent quest toward the adoption and implementation of eco-friendly practices especially in the CI, the consequences in terms of climate change, ozone layer depletion, flood, drought, and other disasters will persist. Biomimicry thinking therefore offers a credible route to integrating sustainability values into the construction practices, design processes, activities, and systems. A major hindrance to the application and implementation of biomimicry for sustainability is the lack of a clear and simplified approach to its incorporation. The trio of emulation, inspiration, and imitation has been established as the ways through which the novel field of biomimicry can be maximally explored to aid the CI’s drive toward sustainability. When the amazing and eco-friendly strategies in nature are imitated, emulated, or drawn inspiration from to inform solutions to issues facing the human environment, the goal of achieving sustainability becomes a step closer. A few examples of technological and innovative solutions birthed through the application of these strategies were presented to authenticate the viability and potential of these biomimicry thinking routes to solving human challenges sustainably. The article was also able to establish the perception of nature as a mentor, measure, and model in a bid to maximally mine the sustainability treasures in the natural world. The exploitative disposition of human beings to the natural ecosystem is also bound to change when nature is viewed as a mentor, measure, and model of innovative and sustainable solutions to human challenges. It is also noteworthy that multinational companies and firms are now incorporating biomimicry and ecological consciousness into their organizational process to protect and conserve the environment. An example of such a company is Interface driven by the mission “to restore the health of the planet”. With the proliferation of biomimicry and global realignment to the natural ecosystem, more construction products, materials, and technologies will be conceptualized, manufactured, and commercialized. These will replace the conventional ones that are known to have significantly contributed to the high level of environmental degradation occurring today. It is therefore important that sustainability collaborative networks are empowered to ensure that biomimicry and nature awareness and consciousness are proliferated among all stakeholders. A robust and effective multidisciplinary collaboration is highly recommended for an accelerated provision of biomimicry-rooted innovative and sustainable solutions to the severe environmental challenges facing the world today. The incorporation of biomimicry thinking into the educational curriculum (from primary to tertiary level) is recommended to ensure that the number of biomimicry enthusiasts and sustainability proponents is on the rise which in turn will see a symbiotic relationship between the human and natural environment.