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A General Framework for Sustainability Assessment of Buildings: A Life-Cycle Thinking Approach

Author

Listed:
  • Duc Binh Tran

    (Faculty of Construction Economics and Management, Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, 55 Giai Phong Road, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam)

  • Van Tan Tran

    (Faculty of Construction Economics and Management, Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, 55 Giai Phong Road, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam)

  • Xuan Anh Pham

    (Faculty of Construction Economics and Management, Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, 55 Giai Phong Road, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam)

  • Van Tuan Nguyen

    (Faculty of Building Materials, Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, 55 Giai Phong Road, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam)

Abstract

Construction is a manufacturing industry that consumes substantial amounts of natural resources, human resources, and social capital. Activities that occur during building construction and utilization negatively impact the environment and have direct and indirect impacts on the surrounding community and society. Properly assessing the sustainability of buildings is critical to the pursuit and achievement of sustainable development goals. Also, construction project decision-makers and stakeholders currently lack an effective tool for comparing the relative sustainability of different materials, design approaches, construction methods, and building operation alternatives. Thus, an integrated framework for assessing building sustainability in terms of environmental, economic, and social aspects is developed and proposed in this paper based on life cycle thinking. This framework is applicable to different building types and life-cycle assessment scopes and provides a practical tool for construction investment project stakeholders to reference, implement, and use to guide the decision-making process. This framework may also provide a reference for other researchers in the construction field to develop sustainability assessment models optimized for different types of construction projects.

Suggested Citation

  • Duc Binh Tran & Van Tan Tran & Xuan Anh Pham & Van Tuan Nguyen, 2023. "A General Framework for Sustainability Assessment of Buildings: A Life-Cycle Thinking Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-21, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:14:p:10770-:d:1190084
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    References listed on IDEAS

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