Review of Life-Cycle Assessment Applications in Building Construction

Abstract

Life-cycle assessment (LCA) has been used to assess product development processes “from cradle to grave” for many years. With the current push toward sustainable construction, LCA has gained importance as an objective method to evaluate the environmental impact of construction practices. A substantial amount of construction-related LCA work has been published recently; however, most of this work has been fragmented and a systematic compilation of this literature has not been undertaken. This article presents a structured review of building construction-related LCA literature, classified under four categories: LCA applications for construction products selection; LCA applications for construction systems/process evaluation; LCA tools and databases related to the construction industry; and LCA methodological developments related to the construction industry. Current challenges for using LCA in construction are discussed and potential areas for future research are highlighted. This review and similar efforts may provide the construction industry and associated researchers the necessary background to make better-informed construction decisions and assist the development of an agenda for further research.