A Process-Technology Framework for Carbon Accounting in the Construction Sector

The construction industry has shown a rising commitment to measure and reduce carbon emissions. Previous research has focused on implementing lifecycle assessments (LCA), a quantitative approach to estimating environmental impacts. In particular, some studies assessed existing standards, databases, and computing tools for carbon accounting. However, none of them have illustrated the interconnection between these elements under different scopes of analysis, such as product, project, or corporate level. This paper presents a framework that depicts the processes, technology, and sources available to measure carbon in the construction sector. The approach employs a systematic literature review to create a matrix that summarizes this information across product, project, and corporate levels. In addition, the relationship between project lifecycle stages and organizational carbon scopes is represented in a conceptual map. By providing this framework, this study contributes to the systematic implementation of carbon measurement in the construction sector, thereby reducing its global carbon emissions.