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This paper bridges the gap between the theory and practice by developing a life cycle sustainability tracker (LCST). The study is seeking to proffer solutions to an observed shortcoming of conventional life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) communication platforms. Notably, the static nature of the information provided on such platforms has made it difficult for them to be used for real-time decision-making and predictions. The main aim of this paper is to develop a LCST that facilitates a dynamic visualisation of life cycle sustainability results and allows for an integrated benchmark across the dimensions of sustainability.

The study leverages the model development capabilities of the design science research strategy in accomplishing a dynamic and novel communication platform. A life cycle thinking methodology and appropriate multicriteria decision approach (MCDA) is applied to accomplish a comprehensive, streamlined and replicable approach in mapping and tracking the progress of sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) projects in India.

It was found that: (1) The use of the LCST tracker provides a dynamic and holistic insight into the key LCSA indicators with clearly defined benchmarks to assess the impact on the SDG 11, (2) The NIP projects achieve an upward trend across all the regions, and the percentage of opportunities ranges from 11 to 24%, with the South experiencing the highest growth and the North having the minimal increase in percentage and (3) The assessment score (52–58%) provides performance metrics that align well with the LCST – which ranges between “Fair” and “Average” for all the regions in India.

The novelty of this research is that the LCST provides a transparent and harmonised approach to reporting on the LCSA results. The LCST utilises heat maps and radial mapping to achieve an intuitive display of large amounts of highly heterogeneous data, thus allowing the synthesis of large sets of information compactly and with coherence. Progress towards the SDGs change on a yearly basis; hence, a dynamic LCSA tool provides a timely and the valuable context to map and track performance across different regions and contexts.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the sustainability performance of modular construction from a life cycle perspective. So far, the sustainability performance of modular buildings has been explored from a life cycle viewpoint. There is no comprehensive study showing which material is the best choice for modular construction considering all three sustainable pillars. Therefore, a life cycle sustainability performance framework, including the three-pillar evaluation framework, was developed for different modular buildings. The materials are concrete, steel and timber constructed as a modular construction method.

Transitioning the built environment to a circular economy is vital to achieving sustainability goals. Modular construction is perceived as the future of the construction industry, and in combination with objective sustainability, it is still in the evaluation phase. A life cycle sustainability assessment, which includes life cycle assessment, life cycle cost and social life cycle assessment, has been selected to evaluate alternative materials for constructing a case study building using modular strategies. Subsequently, the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method was used to compute the outranking scores for each modular component.

The calculated embodied impacts and global warming potential (GWP) showed that material production is the most critical phase (65%–88% of embodied energy and 64%–86% of GWP). The result of embodied energy and GWP shows timber as an ideal choice. Timber modular has a 21% and 11% lower GWP than concrete and steel, respectively. The timber structure also has 19% and 13% lower embodied energy than concrete and steel. However, the result of the economic analysis revealed that concrete is the most economical choice. The cost calculations indicate that concrete exhibits a lower total cost by 4% compared to timber and 11% higher than steel structures. However, the social assessment suggests that steel emerges as the optimal material when contrasted with timber and concrete. Consequently, determining the best single material for constructing modular buildings becomes challenging. To address this, the MCDM technique is used to identify the optimal choice. Through MCDM analysis, steel demonstrates the best overall performance.

This research is valuable for construction professionals as it gives a deliberate framework for modular buildings’ life cycle sustainability performance and assists with sustainable construction materials.

This study aims to holistically explore the intersection of sustainable supply chain management, carbon accounting and life cycle assessment (LCA). The purpose of this study is to derive state-of-the-art knowledge of this landscape and use it to build a structured research agenda that can help to further develop this field.

Seventy-eight distinct contributions, identified through a rigorous, transparent and replicable search protocol, are analyzed through a systematic literature review. Additionally, bibliometric information on the studies is extracted from the Scopus database and visualized through the use of VOSViewer and RStudio.

This study outlines the current state-of-the-art knowledge across three spheres of supply chain management, synthesizing the extant literature into several nascent themes – namely, the significance of Scope 3 emissions; how LCA can be integrated into carbon accounting and sustainability disclosures, the differences between countries and industries in terms of carbon emissions and policies for a concerted effort toward carbon reduction.

Several practical implications can be drawn from the research for both practitioners and policymakers. The research provides a comprehensive, bird’s eye view on the discrepancies between different industries and countries in terms of carbon emissions, along with how carbon accounting should move toward strategic and predictive adoption.

The results show that adopting life cycle thinking can contribute to more transparent monitoring of carbon emissions in supply chains; however, its use in sustainability reporting needs to become more widespread, encompassing not only the carbon footprints of products and services but also the organization as a whole.

Using bibliographic and critical qualitative analyses, this study reviews the literature on LCA in sustainable supply chain management and carbon accounting. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this review is the first attempt to synthesize this relevant and rapidly growing nexus between the three literature streams mentioned above.

Infill materials play a pivotal role in determining buildings’ life cycle costing (LCC) and environmental impacts. International standards prescribe LCC and life cycle assessments (LCA) to assess materials’ economic and environmental sustainability. The existing methods of LCC and LCA are tedious and time-consuming, reducing their practical application. This study sought to integrate LCC and LCA with building information modeling (BIM) to develop a swift and efficient approach for evaluating the life cycle performance of infill materials.

The BIM model for a case study was prepared using Autodesk Revit®, and the study included four infill materials (lightweight aggregate concrete block (LECA), autoclaved cellular concrete (AAC), concrete masonry and bricks). LCC was conducted using Revit® and Autodesk Insight 360® to estimate costs incurred across different project phases. LCA was conducted using “One Click LCA®,” a BIM-based platform featuring a comprehensive material inventory. Carbon emissions, acidification, and eutrophication were chosen as environmental impact factors for LCA.

LECA was the preferred choice due to its lower cost and environmental impact. Its lifetime cost of $440,618 was 5.4% lower than bricks’, with 2.8% lower CO₂ emissions than AAC’s, which were second-place options, respectively. LECA had 6.4 and 27% lower costs than concrete blocks, and AAC’s carbon emissions were 32 and 58% lower than concrete blocks and bricks, respectively.

BIM has been employed for life cycle analysis in existing literature, but its efficacy in evaluating the lifetime costs and environmental impacts of infill materials remains unexplored. The current study presents a BIM-based approach for conducting LCC and LCA of infill materials, facilitating informed decision-making during the planning phase and promoting sustainable construction practices.

This study investigates the implementation of a sustainable circular business model from an accounting perspective. Its goal is to understand if and how decision- makers use management accounting systems, and what changes are needed if these systems are to support the transition toward a circular economy.

Dialogic accounting theory frames the case study of six companies that built a value network to develop and implement an innovative packaging solution consistent with circular economy principles. Content analysis was utilised to investigate the accounting tools used.

The findings indicate that circular solutions generate new organisational configurations based on value networks. Interestingly, managers’ decision-making process largely bypassed the accounting function; they relied on informal accounting and life cycle analysis, which stimulated a multi-stakeholder dialogue in a life cycle perspective.

The research provides theoretical and practical insights into the capability of management accounting systems to support companies seeking circular solutions.

The authors offer implications for accounting practice, chief financial officers (CFOs) and accounting educators, suggesting that a dialogic approach may support value retention of resources, materials and products, as required by the circular economy.

The research contributes to the debate about the role of accounting in sustainability, specifically the need for connecting for resource efficiency at the corporate level with the rationalisation of resource use within planetary boundaries.

The study contributes to the limited research into the role of management accounting in a company’s transition to circular business models. Dialogic accounting theory frames exploration of how accounting may evolve to help businesses become accountable to all stakeholders, including the environment.

Implementing building information modeling (BIM) in construction projects offers many benefits. However, the use of BIM in project cost management is still limited. This study aims to review the current trends in the application of BIM in project cost management.

This study systematically reviews the literature on the application of BIM in project cost management. A total of 46 related articles were identified and analyzed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses method.

Eighteen approaches to applying BIM in project cost management were identified. The approaches can be grouped into cost control and cost estimation. Also, BIM can be applied independently or integrated with other techniques. The integrated approaches for cost control include integration with genetic algorithms, Monte Carlo simulation, lean construction, integrated project delivery, neural network and value engineering. On the contrary, integrated approaches for cost estimation include integration with cost-plus pricing, discrepancy analysis, construction progress curves, estimation standards, algorithms, declarative mappings, life cycle sustainability assessment, ontology, Web-based frameworks and structured query language.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to systematically review prior literature on the application of BIM in project cost management. As a result, the study provides a comprehensive understanding of the current state of the art and fills the literature gap. Researchers and industry professionals can use the study findings to increase the benefits of implementing BIM in construction projects.

The concept of sustainable product design (SPD) is gaining significant attention in recent research. However, due to inherent uncertainties associated with new product development and incorporation of multiple qualitative and quantitative criteria; SPD is a complex and challenging task. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a novel approach by integrating quality function deployment (QFD), multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) technique and Six Sigma evaluation for facilitating SPD in the context of Industry 4.0.

The customer requirements are evaluated through the neutrosophic-decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory-analytic network process (DEMATEL-ANP)-based approach followed by utilizing QFD matrix to estimate the weights of the engineering characteristics (EC). The Six Sigma method is then employed to evaluate the alternatives’ design based on the ECs’ values.

The effectiveness of the suggested approach is illustrated through an example. The result indicates that utilization of the neutrosophic MCDM technique with integration of Six Sigma methodology provides a simple, effective and computationally inexpensive method for SPD.

The proposed approach is helpful in upstream evaluation of the product design with limited experimental/numerical data, maintaining a strong competitive position in the market and enhancing customer satisfaction.

This work provides a novel approach to objectively quantify performance of SPD under the paradigm of Industry 4.0 using the integration of QFD-based hybrid MCDM with Six Sigma method.

In the last decades, various building information modeling–life cycle assessment (BIM-LCA) integration approaches have been developed to assess the environmental impact of the built asset. However, there is a lack of consensus on the optimal BIM-LCA integration approach that provides the most accurate and efficient assessment outcomes. To compare and determine their accuracy and efficiency, this study aimed to investigate four typical BIM-LCA integration solutions, namely, conventional, parametric modeling, plug-in and industry foundation classes (IFC)-based integration.

The four integration approaches were developed and applied using the same building project. A quantitative technique for evaluating the accuracy and efficiency of BIM-LCA integration solutions was used. Four indicators for assessing the performance of BIM-LCA integration were (1) validity of LCA results, (2) accuracy of bill-of-quantity (BOQ) extraction, (3) time for developing life cycle inventories (i.e. developing time) and (4) time for calculating LCA results (i.e. calculation time).

The results show that the plug-in-based approach outperforms others in developing and calculation time, while the conventional one could derive the most accuracy in BOQ extraction and result validity. The parametric modeling approach outperforms the IFC-based method regarding BOQ extraction, developing time and calculation time. Despite this, the IFC-based approach produces LCA outcomes with approximately 1% error, proving its validity.

This paper forms one of the first studies that employ a quantitative and objective method to determine the performance of four typical BIM-LCA integration solutions and reveal the trade-offs between the accuracy and efficiency of the integration approaches. The findings provide practical references for LCA practitioners to select appropriate BIM-LCA integration approaches for evaluating the environmental impact of the built asset during the design phase.

The paper clarifies research gaps and future directions in building information modeling (BIM) research by analyzing research trends and publication patterns. It aims to (1) systematically categorize the vast array of BIM literature into coherent main topics, (2) identify the most and least explored areas and (3) propose directions for future research based on identified research gaps.

This study uses the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) method to manage large datasets and uncover hidden patterns in academic journals and conference articles. To clarify the scholarly focus, the main topics in BIM research are categorized into three groups: (1) primary areas of focus, (2) moderately explored topics and (3) least investigated topics.

The findings revealed 10 main topics (MTs) and 57 subtopics (STs), identifying key areas such as project design and management (20%), innovative construction technology (14%) and sustainable construction/life cycle management (14%). Conversely, it also highlighted underexplored areas like Facility/safety management and urban data development, suitable for future research.

While this work provides a structured overview of the BIM domain, it reveals opportunities for further exploring the complexity of the interrelation among interdisciplinary topics.

The novelty of this study is its extensive scope, analyzing over fifteen thousand BIM articles from 2013 to 2023, which significantly expands the literature scale previously reviewed. This comprehensive approach maps BIM research trends and gaps and also shows the hierarchical trend line of publications in each main topic, setting a benchmark for future studies.

The energy performance gap (EPG) in building construction has been one of the major barriers to the realization of environmental and economic sustainability in the built environment. Although there have been a few studies addressing this issue, studying this topic with a special focus on the project delivery process has been almost overlooked. Hence, this study aims to address the EPG in building construction through the lens of collaborative and life cycle-based project delivery.

In order to realize the objective of this study, the development of a theoretical framework based on the literature review was followed by a qualitative study in which 21 semi-structured interviews were conducted with Finnish project professionals representing clients, design/planning experts, constructors and building operation/maintenance experts to explore their views on the topic under study.

The findings reveal the project delivery-related causes of EPG in building construction. Moreover, the obtained results present a collaborative and life cycle-based delivery model that integrates project and product (i.e. building) life cycles, and it is compatible with all types of contractual frameworks in building construction projects.

Although the findings of this study significantly contribute to theory and practice in the field of collaborative and sustainable construction project delivery, it is acknowledged that these findings are based on Finnish professionals’ input, and expanding this research to other regions is a potential area for further studies. Moreover, the developed model, although validated in Finland, needs to be tested in a broader context as well to gain wider generalizability.

The obtained results reveal the significance and impact of collaborative and life cycle-based project development and delivery on the realization of environmentally sustainable building construction.