A Methodological Framework for Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of Construction Projects Incorporating TBL and Decoupling Principles

In construction projects, integration of the three social, economic, and environmental aspects of the triple bottom line (TBL) principle is challenging.  Green building rating schemes, such as LEED and BREEAM, fail to fully consider the projects' life cycle sustainability.  This study presents a sustainable construction methodology for well-being and impact decoupling.  It provides the rationale for a life cycle methodological framework that applies a TBL approach to sustainability assessment in construction and evaluates interactions among the three social, economic and environmental factors.  The methodology can be tailored to suit the sustainability assessment requirements for the different construction phases and typologies.