Accelerating net-zero construction: A systematic review of multidimensional assessments and strategic interventions for energy sustainability

Energy sustainability in the construction sector (ESCS) relies on robust assessments and strategic interventions to drive meaningful progress. While extant literature offers valuable insights, its fragmented focus—often limited to isolated dimensions, such as environmental assessments or technological strategies—provides incomplete guidance for holistic sustainable practices. To address these gaps, this study systematically synthesizes existing ESCS assessment metrics into a comprehensive conceptual framework while consolidating the strategies for enhancing ESCS performance. Following PRISMA guidelines and utilizing the ASReview LAB active learning tool, the systematic literature review identified 109 highly relevant articles. Subsequent bibliometric and content analyses were performed to capture emerging research trends and key features, yielding several significant findings. First, ESCS research exhibits strong internationalization, with approximately 58.97 % of countries actively engaging in collaborative research networks, in which Asia and Europe function as central hubs. Second, the keywords clustering analysis reveals that current ESCS research emphasizes different focal areas, lacking comprehensive, integrated analyses necessary for understanding ESCS as a holistic system. Third, this study develops a multi-dimensional conceptual framework integrating environment, social, energy security, and energy efficiency pillars along with their synergies. The analysis identifies critical gaps: quality-related environmental indicators and energy security metrics remain substantially underexplored. Lastly, strategies for enhancing ESCS are classified across technological, policy, and social dimensions. The findings reveal a disproportionate emphasis on technological interventions while underscoring that effective ESCS advancement requires integrated approaches combining technological innovation with supportive policy frameworks and social engagement mechanisms. These research findings illuminate the trajectories of ESCS research and practice, presenting both a comprehensive assessment framework and a strategy map. This integrated review provides structured guidance for diverse stakeholders to advance ESCS through evidence-based, multidimensional interventions.