Sustainable material selection for construction industry - A hybrid multi criteria decision making approach

Urbanization and globalization has led to a rapid development in the construction industry. Many strategies have been proposed to improve cost effectiveness in this sector. Over the last decade, cost concerns have been balanced with a growing debate on the necessity for sustainable construction practices. Because of depleting resources and environmental concerns, researchers and practitioners have begun to explore sustainable construction strategies. Among these strategies is the selection of sustainable materials which play a vital role in a building's environmental footprint. In the UAE in particular, there is an ongoing demand to select the best sustainable construction materials because the industry is growing so rapidly in this nation. Thus, the main intent of this paper is to propose a model to evaluate the best sustainable construction material based on sustainable indicators through a hybrid multi criteria decision making (MCDM) methodology with a specific examination of the UAE. The indicators collected from existing literatures were used in evaluation of sustainable construction materials with the assistance of construction sector-based respondents. The proposed framework was validated with a case study company, and the results were compared to the existing literatures and to feedback from the respondents. Finally, the study concludes with an assessment of its own limitations along with the identification of some useful managerial implications; it sheds some light on future possible enhancements in the theme of sustainable construction in the context of UAE. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.