Implementation of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in the Procurement Process of Buildings: A Systematic Literature Review

Marco Scherz, Antonija Ana Wieser, Alexander Passer and Helmuth Kreiner ()
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Marco Scherz: Working Group Sustainable Construction, Institute of Structural Design, Graz University of Technology, 8020 Graz, Austria
Antonija Ana Wieser: Institute of Technology and Testing of Construction Materials, Graz University of Technology, 8010 Graz, Austria
Alexander Passer: Working Group Sustainable Construction, Institute of Structural Design, Graz University of Technology, 8020 Graz, Austria
Helmuth Kreiner: Working Group Sustainable Construction, Institute of Structural Design, Graz University of Technology, 8020 Graz, Austria

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 24, 1-22

Abstract: The construction industry adds a high share to global CO 2 emissions and, thus, to the global climate crisis. Future buildings need to be planned, constructed, operated, and deconstructed in a lifecycle-oriented manner so that the building stock represents a capital asset for future generations. The greatest leverages for reducing a building’s CO 2 emissions lie in the early project phase and subsequently in the tendering and awarding process, which makes early Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) indispensable. In this study, we set a sociological research framework consisting of (i) choosing a research topic, (ii) conducting a literature review, (iii) measuring variables and gathering data, (iv) analyzing data, and (v) drawing a conclusion. Since there are countless studies that apply LCA in the construction sector for environmental assessment, emission reduction, or decision support, we posed the question of whether LCA was also applied in the public building tendering and awarding process. Furthermore, we focused on identifying obstacles to LCA implementation in this early project phase. Therefore, we applied the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and conducted a Systematic Literature Review (SLR). The results show that numerous articles focused on sustainable tendering or green public procurement in the construction industry; however, the LCA method is scarcely used in the procurement processes (19 articles in the final sample). Based on our findings, the main obstacles to LCA implementation in the procurement process are highlighted in the study. In the future, the mandatory integration of LCA into the procurement process will be crucial to reduce the CO 2 emissions generated by the construction industry and thus contribute to the EU climate target plan to ensure carbon neutrality by 2050.

Keywords: buildings; life cycle assessment (LCA); sustainability assessment; public procurement; tendering; awarding; obstacles detection; sustainable construction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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