Embodied Water in the building life cycle: current research and future directions

• Embodied Water in the building life cycle is an overlooked concept in academia, and it needs more robust research as construction accounts for 15–16 % of the global freshwater usage. • There are numerous barriers to reducing Embodied Water in the building life cycle, and this study identified 22 barriers. However, multiple strategies can be adopted at different phases of a construction project to overcome these barriers. • Current research trends related to Embodied Water in the building life cycle include estimating the Embodied Water of materials, elements, and buildings, developing comprehensive databases, and many others. • There are multiple future research opportunities, such as estimating the Embodied Water of different types of buildings and elements and developing low Embodied Water materials. Moreover, integrating digital technologies such as IoT, blockchain, and AI will revolutionise future Embodied Water assessments with real-time data. Water, recognised as a scarce resource, has been considered for sustainable development goals (SDG-6) and acknowledged 2018–2028 as the water action decade. Water is essential for the construction industry, and it consumes around 15–16 % of the global freshwater. While water is directly utilised for construction, for instance, in preparation of mortar, an enormous quantity of water is indirectly consumed through building materials, energy sources, etc. The combination of direct and indirect water components is termed Embodied Water (EW). Minimising EW throughout the building life cycle is imperative to drive towards sustainable development. However, EW has not yet received its due recognition as an essential element in evaluating the sustainability of the building life cycle, with limited research studies addressing its significance. Thus, this paper aims to analyse the contemporary status, barriers, strategies, research trends, and future directions of EW within the building life cycle. The systematic literature review approach was adopted to attain the aim of this paper. The results of this study reveal twenty-two barriers hindering the reduction of EW and twenty-eight strategies to overcome them. Frequent usage of high water-consuming materials, water and material wastage, and difficulties in estimating EW are some of the main barriers identified in this study. Selecting materials with low EW, effective and efficient usage of materials and machinery, and introducing water management-related policies are some of the key strategies derived from this research. Additionally, this paper presents nine research trends and fifteen prospective research avenues identified through existing studies.