Enhancing sustainable hospital design in Jordan: An AHP-based approach to energy efficiency and environmental protection

• Develops an AHP-based framework for evaluating hospital sustainability in Jordan. • Identifies site planning and energy efficiency as top sustainability priorities. • Aligns selected criteria with LEED and BREEAM healthcare frameworks. • Uses expert-derived weights from recent literature for objective ranking. • Provides a transferable model for sustainability planning in similar regions. Sustainable hospital design is critical in minimizing environmental impact while maintaining operational performance. This study develops an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) model to support multi-criteria decision-making in hospital sustainability planning within the Jordanian context. Seven main criteria and corresponding sub-criteria were evaluated, with Sustainable Site Planning emerging as the top priority (38.92%), followed by Energy Efficiency (19.46%) and Sociocultural and Functional Considerations (12.97%). Lower weights were assigned to Indoor Environmental Quality, Technical, Water Efficiency, and Materials & Resources. The model demonstrated logical consistency (CR = 0.081) and reflects expert judgment from recent literature. This framework provides a practical tool for guiding architects, policymakers, and planners in prioritizing sustainable strategies in healthcare infrastructure, especially in resource-constrained regions.