The construction industry is one of the largest contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions owing to the high-energy-intensive utilization of materials. Prefabrication, a modern construction method, has emerged as a sustainable alternative that optimizes the use of construction materials and minimizes waste generation. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the most widely used tool for assessing the environmental impact of prefabrication. Although the advantages of LCA for prefabrication have been proven, its adoption in the field remains limited. This review aims to evaluate the carbon mitigation potential and environmental impact of prefabrication using LCA. This review systematically studied 96 research articles guided by the PICO and PRISMA frameworks. The novelty of this review lies in integrating prefabrication and LCA using PICO–PRISMA frameworks to holistically assess carbon mitigation and policy alignment. Developed nations lead the publication, citation, and collaboration counts. Recent research trends are shifting toward the holistic sustainable assessment of prefabricated structures. The review revealed that various prefabricated elements have a CO₂ mitigation potential of approximately 11% to 96%. The material production, operational, and transportation phases are considered environmental hotspots of prefabrication. The influence of the circular economy and policy frameworks is positive for adopting prefabrication and mitigating construction emissions. The limitation of this study is the absence of a meta-analysis and statistical assessment. The future research scope is vast, including sustainable life cycle assessment with digitalization, circular economy, material innovation, structural performance, and regional policy frameworks.
Sayed et al. (Mon,) studied this question.