Developing the role of life cycle assessment in improving construction management of construction projects

Following communities development, the growth of construction industry has been very impressive. About one billion tons of waste produced annually by the European Union countries is related to the construction industry, and this industry has consumed more than 40% of global energy. Also, the construction industry is responsible for the production and emission of 40-50% of greenhouse gases. Therefore, the material and energy consumption, the production of waste materials and the pollutants emission should be identified and controlled. Today, life cycle assessment is accepted as one of the most reliable methods in investigating environmental effects and can introduce solutions in order to reduce the harmful effects of the environment by comparing different ways of producing or providing services. The main goal of this research is to review the important findings of the most reliable studies in the field of life cycle assessment knowledge in different sectors of the construction industry, which can be useful in organizing and describing the current conditions. Expressing the advantages, challenges and examining possible possibilities to solve them and providing suggestions for determining the implementation framework of life cycle assessment in the construction industry are other goals of this research. The results of this study show the positive effects of life cycle assessment in the sustainable development of the construction industry. Also, the exploitation stage has the greatest impact on the environment due to its longer duration. The dominant building materials also have a significant effect on energy consumption and global warming potentials of buildings.