Life cycle assessment and multi-criteria decision-making for sustainable building parts: criteria, methods, and application

Abstract Purpose Sustainable building design relies heavily on building parts, with crucial consideration for climate and environmental impact. Due to numerous criteria and diverse alternatives, employing multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) to choose the best alternative is essential. Yet, relevant criteria and suitable MCDM methods for life cycle-based building planning still need to be determined. This study highlights prevalent environmental criteria and offers guidance on MCDM approaches for sustainable building parts. Methods This study introduces an innovative approach by integrating life cycle assessment and MCDM. This provides comprehensive decision support for planners. A systematic literature review identifies environmental criteria for building parts and is validated in expert workshops. Thus, the relevance of criteria across the building life cycle is established. Furthermore, the study analyzes MCDM approaches in the built environment. From this, the study employs and evaluates the Analytical Network Process (ANP) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) in a case study. Thereby, it offers insights into effective decision-making methodologies for sustainable building practices. Results This research categorizes environmental criteria for building parts and buildings into emissions, energy, resources, and circularity. Among 26 building part-related criteria, the global warming potential is highlighted. While the AHP is widely used in MCDM, a standardized method in planning processes is yet to emerge. Applying the ANP and AHP reveals similar rankings for the best and worst alternatives in a case study focused on selecting the optimal ceiling structure. Ribbed or box slab ceiling constructions are favored over reinforced concrete and composite timber-concrete constructions. Conclusions This study presents a novel method for life cycle-based MCDM challenges, identifying key environmental criteria. While material correlations exist, evaluating building parts demands simultaneous consideration of multiple criteria. Future research aims to compare further MCDM methods regarding their applicability, transparency, and ranking to enhance decision-making in sustainable construction. These investigations are essential for refining decision-making processes in the built environment, ensuring effective and transparent sustainability planning approaches.