SUBSTAINABILITY IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF LITERATURE.

Abstract

The construction industry has faced criticism for its negative environmental impacts. To mitigate these effects, the industry has been striving to implement sustainable practices across its entire production chain. This study aims to conduct a quantitative bibliometric analysis using meta-analysis methodology and, subsequently, evaluate the selected articles through qualitative methods in the field of sustainability in civil construction. For this purpose, a search was performed on the Web of Science, utilizing a set of keywords followed by a filtering process, ultimately resulting in a review of 433 articles published over 18 years. The VOSviewer software was employed for the quantitative analysis of the collected documents. The findings highlighted a scarcity of quantitative methodologies for assessing sustainability in the construction sector. This research outlines the evolution of studies, key focus areas, prominent environmental certifications, widely used assessment methodologies, and the distribution of work stages covered in the literature. The primary contributions identified include the main research areas—materials, project management, sustainability assessment, and energy. The most frequently used methodology was Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), while Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) emerged as the most referenced certification. It was observed that environmental aspects are more frequently studied than social and economic sustainability pillars. Additionally, most articles focus on the planning and execution stages of construction, whereas studies on the operation and maintenance phases remain limited. These insights provide a valuable reference for future research in the field.

Keywords

Sustainability, civil construction, bibliometric analysis, meta-analysis, quantitative methods, environmental impact, life cycle assessment (LCA), LEED certification, project management, energy efficiency, sustainable materials, planning, execution, operation, maintenance.