The research paper presents a hierarchical sustainability framework for evaluating the barriers to the adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) construction sector. A total of 32 barriers to the adoption of GSCM are identified through extensive literature review and expert interviews with academics and industry professionals. The barriers are grouped on the basis of literature and expert opinion to form 12 criteria. Since the nature of the identified criteria is complex and interdependent; an Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) technique is applied to develop a structural model. Driving and dependence power analysis (DDPA) is used to classify and identify the critical barriers. The developed sustainability framework offers a strong and efficient evaluation technique in decision making for policy makers and stakeholders by means of identifying and prioritizing the critical barriers. The barriers identified are also classified as external and internal barriers to the organization and will help policy makers to focus on specific barriers which are important to the adoption of GSCM in the UAE construction sector. The framework has the potential to be applied to other countries across industries.