Advancing Sustainable Material Selection in Construction: A Systematic Review of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Applications

Abstract

Choosing sustainable materials for construction projects is essential to achieving global sustainability goals, as environmental challenges and economic and social issues continue to escalate. The research applies PRISMA methodology to identify and select of MCDM applications in sustainable material selection studies through a systematic review. The research analyzed 120 peer-reviewed papers to identify four main categories which included Site Selection, Infrastructure Planning, Sustainability Assessment, Performance Indicators and Supplier and Material Selection Decision Support Systems, Sustainable Materials and Construction Methods. The research shows that hybrid MCDM methods like AHP-WASPAS, MLCAQ and fuzzy TOPSIS are being used increasingly due to their stronger performance and ability to handle complex evaluation scenarios. Bibliometric analysis of co-authorship shows that there is close collaboration among researchers. New research directions are moving toward combining Internet of Things technologies with Artificial Intelligence systems. Future research agendas for sustainable construction should focus on the development of coherent sustainability assessment frameworks using practical tools that help professionals deliver sustainable construction projects with positive environmental effects.