Abstract
Given the urgent need for decarbonization of the construction industry due to its pivotal role in global greenhouse gas emissions, industrialized construction (IC) has emerged as a promising technique to change the productivity, quality, and sustainability of construction. Although some evidence and case studies reveal that IC has distinct decarbonization advantages compared with traditional construction, there still is a need to analyze best practices, opportunities, and challenges in order to guide industry practitioners and to define key knowledge gaps. A systematic review was conducted following the three core steps: database search; research gap identification, analysis according to key lifecycle stages, and decarbonization themes. This synthesized existing academic works at the intersection of industrialized construction and decarbonization to provide a comprehensive understanding of decarbonization in IC. The findings show that although a significant amount of research focused on emissions during project stages A1–A3, there is a noticeable research gap in evaluating the carbon emissions associated with transportation, operations, and end-of-life attributes of IC. Moreover, the absence of real-time assessments during the B6–B7 operational stages impedes optimal carbon emission assessment. The verbosity of carbon estimation and tracking methodologies also adds challenges to ensuring that additional carbon impacts of IC are adequately offset by improved efficiency and lower onsite emissions. The potential of decarbonization of IC can be explored further by future research on the standardization of life-cycle assessments, development of continuous carbon-tracking methodologies, and application of alternative materials and new technologies.
Practical Applications
The effectiveness of IC practices in reducing carbon emissions may vary, as deduced from the reviewed literature. However, the conscientious selection of materials characterized by low embodied emissions can contribute to a reduction in carbon emissions, applicable to both IC and non-IC projects. IC projects are uniquely positioned to achieve an even greater reduction in carbon emissions because of a unique process that innately offers waste reduction and product quality improvements. Although a considerable volume of research has focused on estimating carbon emissions, there appears to be a gap in tracking the precise quantity of emissions across various life-cycle phases within IC. Although there is considerable research on decarbonization in prefabricated components, research on specific life-cycle phases still is lagging. Furthermore, future research should prioritize investigating similar opportunities for three-dimensional (3D) volumetric systems.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 150 • Issue 9 • September 2024
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© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Published online: Jun 25, 2024
Published in print: Sep 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Nov 25, 2024
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