## 3 Methodological Procedures  
To conduct this study, four distinct and well-defined phases were delineated. Firstly, a literature review was conducted, focusing on previous research due to the exploratory nature of our study and the need to establish a strong foundation for our investigations into challenges related to ESG implementation. Next, a research instrument (a questionnaire) was developed based on the challenges identified in the literature. Subsequently, a survey was conducted with professionals in the construction industry using the Lawshe method to validate the challenges within the context of a developing economy and their relation to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Lawshe method was chosen because it is used to determine the content validity of a measurement instrument, especially in research involving expert opinion. This method involves the evaluation of individual items by a panel of experts, who rate each item in terms of its essentiality to the concept being measured, thus making it fundamental for achieving the results in this research. Finally, discussions, conclusions, and proposals for future research were established. For the literature review, the following scientific databases were consulted: Science Direct, Web of Science, and Scopus, aiming to identify articles addressing the challenges of implementing ESG practices. Specific queries were conducted using terms and combinations of keywords such as \"environmental, social, and governance\", \"barriers\", \"difficulty\", \"obstacles\", \"impediments\", \"resistances\", and \"challenges\". These queries were applied to titles, abstracts, and keywords of articles, covering both original studies and reviews. In the initial phase of the research, 535 documents were identified. After excluding articles not available in open access and removing duplicates, 270 articles remained for analysis. From this selection, the challenges associated with ESG implementation were cataloged and classified through full document readings, as presented in Table 1.  
Next, a questionnaire was developed based on the identified challenges. The structure of the questionnaire included presenting the challenge, describing it, and providing response options. For instance, \"Lack of an educational system within the context of ESG. (Description: Challenge related to the absence of educational and awareness programs on ESG practices, impacting understanding and widespread adherence to these principles)\". After reading the challenge and description, invited experts were evaluated using a three-point scale (options), which was based on the work of [112, 113, 114]. Overcoming this challenge is not important for implementing ESG in the construction sector. The selection of experts to respond to the questionnaire was based on the following criteria: having experience in the sector, academic background (civil engineers or architects),and experience with ESG (environmental, social, and governance). The experts were contacted via emails and social media, while the form was made available through an online link created on the Google Forms platform, remaining open for responses for thirty days. A total of six hundred and fifteen professionals were invited, resulting in a response rate of 11.54%. Regarding the geographical distribution of participants, 62.5% were from the north region of Brazil, 20.83% from the southeast region, 8.33% from the northeast, 5.56% from the south, and 2.78% from the Midwest. In terms of participants' experience, 41.67% had up to 5 years of experience, 22.22% had more than 5 years up to 10 years of experience, and 36.11% had over 10 years of experience in the sector. The research was carried out in March 2024 among professionals. The data obtained from the survey with professionals were analyzed using the [PERSON] method, following the guidelines of [112; 113; 114].