Sustainability in the civil construction industry: an exploratory study of life cycle analysis methods

Abstract

The civil construction industry has been an industry that significantly impacts the environment due to the amount of materials used in the construction process. Considering this fact, one must consider how to control and manage the environmental, social and economic impacts that permeate their life cycle, which is, according to the literature, between 40 and 100 years. The relevance of this issue, with regard to environmental, social and economic impacts in the civil construction industry, can be found in the discussion where balance is sought between these parameters in sustainable management. We opted for an exploratory study based on the bibliometric analysis of the use of life cycle analysis methods. The data was treated qualitatively by assessing the application of methods proposed by the research. The results indicate that sustainability in the civil construction industry is dynamic with respect to time due to varying impacts during the life cycle.