Sustainable Cities and Society 52 (2020) 101869

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Sustainable Cities and Society

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scs

A conceptual framework for understanding the contribution of building T

materials in the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Mohamed A.B. Omer*, Takafumi Noguchi
Building Material Engineering Laboratory, Department of Architecture, The University of Tokyo, T-Building No.1, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo 113-8685, Japan

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: The UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 169 targets have been considered in multidisciplinary
Building materials approaches worldwide. Whereas, several environmental, economic and social development concerns have been
Sustainable development goals (SDGs) covered by the UN 2030 Agenda. The aim of this research is to investigate the complexity of the interactions
Contribution between building materials and the SDGs, in an attempt to establish a knowledge-based decision support system
Interaction
for policy-makers, designers and construction stakeholders regarding the implementation of 2030 agenda. A
Building construction
Built-environment
conceptual framework based on a systematic and comprehensive literature review, coupled with critical content
analysis, was developed. This research proved that building materials can contribute significantly to the
achievement of 13 goals and 25 targets of SDGs. The framework showed that direct positive contribution of
building materials on the SDGs has been noticed in SDG 3, SDG 7, SDG 9, SDG 11, SDG 12, SDG 13, and SDG 15
while invisible contribution has been shown in SDG 2, SDG 5, SDG 10 and SDG 16. Additionally, indirect and
negative contributions have been presented entirely in the framework. The present study offered a possibility to
motivate future research and further critical discussions on the topic.

1. Introduction & Lawson, 2018; Russell, Lee, & Clift, 2018), and they can affect each
other positively or negatively (Pradhan, 2019; Singh et al., 2018). The
In September 2015, the United Nations general assembly (Leaders research related to SDGs significantly appeared in various disciplines in
from 193 countries of the world) adopted seventeenth sustainable de- the academic domain. The SDGs have become a challenge for all
velopment goals as an action plan to transform the world (people, countries as the achievement of these goals and targets requires the
planet and prosperity) by the year 2030 (United Nation-UN, 2015). establishment of an advanced and determined system at a country level,
Several environmental, economic and social development concerns, thus it will increase the demand for technology, innovation and re-
such as health and well-being, poverty, hunger, quality education, sources to build such system (Bebbington & Unerman, 2015). However,
gender equality, climate action, water, sanitation, energy and en- governments and their related bodies have the major responsibility to
vironment and peace and social justice have been covered by the UN initiate rules and regulations and also to follow-up and review the
2030 Agenda (McArthur & Rasmussen, 2018). The new 17 SDGs and implementation of these goals at local, regional, national and global
the 169 associated targets are linked to the previous three pillars of levels (Yin, Li, & Xing, 2019). The various goals and targets will be
sustainable development: the economic, social and the environment in associated with a different degree of challenge for different countries
an attempt to encourage action over the next years to transform Earth depending on the existing development condition, for instance, the
for a sustainable planet. The 2030 Agenda has been motivated from the country’s economic and urbanization growth are determined its ability
following reports: Brundtland report (WCED, 1987), the UN conference to achieve SDGs and to move towards sustainability (Osborn, Cutter, &
on environment and development (United Nation-UN, 1992), the Mil- Ullah, 2015).
lennium Declaration (United Nation-UN, 2000), and the UN Conference The World Business Council for Sustainable Development WBCSD,
on Sustainable Development (United Nation-UN, 2012) (see Appendix and DNV GL (2018) have conducted a universal survey to investigate
A Supplementary data). how companies are now working to incorporate their activities with the
The 17 SDGs have been presented as separate goals, but they are SDGs. The responses were obtained from around 250 companies across
interrelated to each other systematically (Harris, Riley, Dawson, Friel, 43 countries and four continents. The results of the survey showed that,

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] (M.A.B. Omer), [email protected],
[email protected] (T. Noguchi).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101869
Received 9 May 2019; Received in revised form 8 September 2019; Accepted 28 September 2019
Available online 03 October 2019
2210-6707/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M.A.B. Omer and T. Noguchi Sustainable Cities and Society 52 (2020) 101869

the SDG 13 (climate action) is the most ranked goal among others, with there is no existing framework that scores building materials on their
62% companies classifying it as an important task, while the SDG 14 contribution to the SDGs. Therefore, this article aims to create a con-
(Life below Water) achieved the least rank (only 10% of companies ceptual framework to examine the complexity of the interconnections
seeing it as a major topic). The responsible consumption and production between building materials and the SDGs based on a wide-ranging lit-
goal (SDG 12) scored the highest percentage in Europe and Asia Pacific erature review in an attempt to establish a starting base-knowledge to
regions whereas in north Latin America the SDG 8 (Decent Work and support policy-makers, designers and developers regarding the im-
Economic Growth) was the highest rank. plementation of 2030 agenda in buildings. The research intends to
More Recently, Globescan (2017) and Moratis and Melissen (2019) answer the following two main questions:
claimed that it has been more than three years (20% of the time passed)
since the United Nations (UN) General Assembly announced the 17 1 How building materials can make sustainable development goals
indivisible SDGs, however, a lot of work is needed to realize the agenda (SDGs) a reality?
in the rest of the coming years. According to Nilsson, Griggs, and 2 What are the alternative building materials to achieve long-lasting
Visbeck (2016), the overlapping between different SDGs can make sustainability in our built environment?
perverse outcome if countries ignored its significance and started to
implement the targets one by one. Moreover, the universal nature of the In addition to that, this study expects to develop new approaches
SDGs and the interactions between the goals and targets need to be and proposals to improve material selection decisions in order to
considered by policymakers within different fields, thus a systematic transform building, neighborhood, city, and region into more sustain-
framework has to be proposed in order to analyze the interactions be- able and livable environments.
tween all sustainable development goals and indicators (Pradhan, Subsequent to this introduction, the rest of the article has the fol-
Costa, Rybski, Lucht, & Kropp, 2017). The Understanding of the trade- lowing structure: Section 1.1 and Section 1.2 show briefly the link be-
off and the synergistic relationships between different SDGs is very tween the construction industry, building materials and sustainable
essential in order to achieve enduring sustainable development results. development goals (SDGs). Section 2 concisely define the research
Thus, a wide range of tools and analysis is needed to analyze the methods used in this study. In Section 3, the contribution score of
complexity and to achieve the goals in the rest of the years until 2030 building materials in the achievement of SDGs and its results are pre-
(Nilsson, Griggs, Visbeck, & Ringler, 2017). sented, afterwards, the main results are reviewed. Finally, in section 5,
Until now, there is nascent literature, addressing the interactions the conclusions of this study and the need for future research are ex-
between the SDGs and their targets. For example, Coopman, Osborn, plained.
Ullah, Auckland, and Long (2016) identified a new methodology to
understand the interlinkages nature of the SDGs in developed countries, 1.1. The link between building, construction industry and sustainable
focusing on the interlinkages between the targets of the SDG 12 (en- development goals (SDGs)
suring sustainable consumption and production) and the other targets
of SDGs. However, eight types of interlinkages and three categories While they provide uncountable benefits to society and human
(Supporting, Enabling and Relying) have been created for the evalua- being, buildings have a remarkable impact on health and the environ-
tion and scoring of the interactions between SDGs and their targets. In ment. The building sector is repeatedly consuming a large amount of
June 2016, the International Council for Science (ICSU) and Nilsson, energy and natural resources during buildings lifetime; the design,
Griggs, Visbeck, and Ringler (2016) have developed a framework for construction, operation and the maintenance of the building, hence
understanding the interactions between SDGs. Seven points have been they have a massive impact on the environment (Invidiata, Lavagna, &
presented in an ordinal scale helping in classification the nature of the Ghisi, 2018). The building occupies more than 32% of the total global
interactions between SDGs and targets. The framework provides a wide energy use (Zou, Wagle, & Alam, 2019). The environmental impact of
range scale (from +3 to -3) to classify the most relationship between the buildings and construction sector is massive, it accounts for the use
SDGs and their targets. Moreover, negative and positive interactions of 40% of the natural resources extracted in industrialized countries,
can be seen in the matrix. The positive interactions are given scores of the consumption of 70% of the electrical power and 12% of potable
either +3 (Invisible), +2 (reinforcing), or +1 (enabling), while the water, and the production of 45–65% of the waste placed to landfills
negative interactions and trade-off are scored with -3 (cancelling), -2 (Castro-Lacouture, Sefair, Flórez, & Medaglia, 2009; Franzoni, 2011;
(counteracting), and -1 (constraining). Also, a score of 0 (consistent) is Pulselli, Simoncini, Pulselli, & Bastianoni, 2007). Additionally, they are
assigned if there are no negative or positive interactions between the responsible for a large amount of GHG emissions accounting for 30%
SDGs or their targets (see Appendix A. Supplementary data). used during the operation phase and an additional 18% produced
Furthermore, Waage et al. (2015) proposed a framework for ex- during material utilization and transportation (Umar, Khamidi, &
amining the interactions between SDGs and how those interactions can Tukur, 2016). This huge percentage has raised concerns over the effect
be directed. The framework composed of three concentric layers in a of buildings in the built environment, and therefore the following
circle to show the relationships between the 17 SDGs. However, the question has to be answered: What are the best methods we need to
well-being, infrastructure, and natural environment have been in- tackle in order to minimize the negative impact of the buildings on our
troduced in the inner layer, second-level, and third-level respectively. environment?
Each goal has been assigned to a specific level in order to link the health The 17 SDGs are wide-ranging, from zero poverty and hunger to
and well-being with other goals peace justice and strong institutions, however, there are other several
On the other hand, the expected growth of urbanization and large goals in which building can have a significant contribution to achieve
cities in the coming decades will be associated with significant pro- them. The construction industry can contribute widely to achieving the
duction of raw materials and consumption of natural resources and UN sustainable development goals. The industry uses a considerable
economic movements (Ribeiro & Gonçalves, 2019). Hence, this can amount of materials, energy, water, and natural resources.
cause serious environmental and social impacts, and indeed, will in- Consequently, many local and global challenges such as climate change,
crease the need for green building materials for constructing new health and well-being are significantly affected by this industry
building and infrastructure to accommodate these expansions and to (Alawneh, Mohamed Ghazali, Ali, & Asif, 2018; Hurlimann, Warren-
achieve the overall sustainable development. Myers, & Browne, 2019). The construction industry plays a vital role in
Currently, the link between building materials and the UN SDGs and the economic growth, social progress and in offering effective en-
their targets has not been excessively clarified; consequently, there is a vironmental protection which are the three elements of sustainable
lack of information and insight on this important topic. Furthermore, development (Aysin, 2009). The world green building Council’s

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M.A.B. Omer and T. Noguchi Sustainable Cities and Society 52 (2020) 101869

Fig. 1. Shows how green building can achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Adapted from WGBC (2019).

Dominika Czerwinska (WGBC, 2019) identified that green building can Bioregional (2018) foundation created a practical guide for construc-
participate positively to meet sustainable development goals. The tion and property companies showing how the construction sector
WGBC proposed a detailed of three infographics on their website to could achieve the SDGs. The study investigated all the 169 targets of the
show how a green building can contribute to achieving nine of SDGs SDGs, and 56 of them have been identified to be the most important
including SDG 3, SDG7, SDG8, SDG9, SDG11, SDG12, SDG13, SDG15 targets in which the building and construction sector can have a direct
and SDG17 (As shown in Fig. 1) role to achieve them.
Up to date, a few works in the literature demonstrate the connection In recent research, Alawneh et al. (2018) proposed an index to
and interaction between building and SDGs. Although the majority of evaluate the contribution of water and energy efficiency measures in
prior research has enlightened the interlinkages between the building green building to achieve UN SDGs. The finding of his research stated
and one or two of SDGs, each of them has explored only part of this that the implementation of LEED v2.2 water efficiency credits and en-
complex relationship. However, they can be considered as the first step ergy and atmosphere standards participated in achieving seven of SDGs
towards a more reflective understanding of the subject. For instance, Di in Jordan including SDG 6, SDG7, SDG8, SDG9, SDG12, SDG13, and
Foggia (2018) studied the link between energy-efficient measures in SDG15. Opoku (2019) examined the impact and the role of the sus-
buildings (EEMs) and sustainable development goals (SDGs). The study tainable built environment with regard to biodiversity conservation and
linked the energy-efficient buildings to SDG goal no 11 (Make cities and the SDGs by investigating the link between all SDGs in general and SDG
human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable) and SDG 15 in particular. The research revealed that the efficient and the re-
goal no 13 (Take urgent action to combat climate change and its im- sponsible use of building materials has been identified as a major task
pacts) aiming to enhance the EE of the building, reduce the energy where the built-environment can contribute significantly to preserve
consumption and improve the indoor comfort levels. The finding of his biodiversity and realize the SDGs.
research indicated that the implementation of effective energy-efficient
measures and strategies can lower the cost of the building, contribute to
1.2. Building materials and sustainable development goals (SDGs)
sustaining the principal objectives of the current climate and energy
policies, and promote global environmental well-being. Also, the
Building materials can be referred to any material that is used for

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M.A.B. Omer and T. Noguchi Sustainable Cities and Society 52 (2020) 101869

Fig. 2. Research methodology flow chart.

construction purposes, it can be naturally arising in nature such as clay, (2010), globally, over 40% of the application of the materials is oper-
sand, and wood or it can be artificially made by human beings (syn- ating in the construction of buildings, including non-renewable mate-
thetic materials) such as brick, insulation, metal and plastics (Kubba, rials. Building materials are responsible for 10%–20% of the building’s
2017b). Building Materials, belonging to over 2000 types of products total energy consumption, from the first instance the percentages look
and materials, commonly classified into two groups: metal materials relatively low, but by looking at the development of their production,
and non-metal materials (Song et al., 2018). these numbers will increase steadily in the next coming years (Ramesh,
Materials have been considered an essential element for building Prakash, & Shukla, 2014; Ruuska & Häkkinen, 2014).
construction as far back as 400 BC (Tuflite, 2016). The first building Building Materials dominate a great share in the total energy con-
materials were biodegradable and nondurable (for example; Leaves and sumption of the building during it is life-cycle and they are contributing
animal hides). Afterwards, with the industrial revolution followed by to the total GHG emissions (Hong, Shen, Feng, Lau, & Mao, 2015;
the development of machinery and large-scale industrial production, Sabnis & Pranesh, 2017; Sagheb, Vafaeihosseini, & Kumar, 2011;
many innovative materials have been discovered for building con- Yüksek, 2015). These greenhouse gases emissions are related to the
struction (such as Metal and Concrete). Moreover, with the continuing building’s operational energy (OE) as well as the embodied energy (EE)
research; various construction materials have been available in the of the building materials (Ramesh, Prakash, & Shukla, 2010; Thormark,
market to satisfy the need of creating modern architectural designs 2006). According to the data derived from the World Health Institute-
(Silva, Khan, & Han, 2018). Nevertheless, the evolution in the building WHO (2016), building materials (like asbestos, formaldehyde, and
materials industry has been accompanying with many environmental lead) have the potential to damage health and causes serious diseases
problems related to climate change and global warming. Building ma- like cancer, lung disease and reduced growth (Petrović, Vale, Zari, &
terials have been becoming part of the sustainable development concept Petrović, 2017), and could create what is known as a sick building
which is becoming an important task within the construction industry syndrome. However, if they selected well, materials can provide a
aiming to reduce the negative impact of the building on the environ- better indoor environment for the human being and they can reduce the
ment (Martins & Gonçalves, 2012). negative impacts of buildings on climate and health (Pedersen Zari,
The building materials generate million tons of waste annually re- 2019).
sulting in a large carbon dioxide emissions in the built environment. As On the other hand, since 1987, numerous building materials and
stated by Asif, Muneer, and Kelley (2007) and Yahya and Boussabaine products have been introduced in the construction market to show their

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M.A.B. Omer and T. Noguchi Sustainable Cities and Society 52 (2020) 101869

capability to meet the international sustainable development goal. As a development goals started in 2015. Additionally, selecting the most
result, several terminologies concerning the sustainability of building recent studies will ensure that the paper is addressing a new topic as
and material have been widely used without a clear definition (Berardi, well as identifying opportunities for new research. After all, 152 sources
2013). For this reason, controversies and debates existed between re- were cited in this study.
searchers and many of them came up with different explanations (Ofori, Further, based on the results of the above two stages (data collection
Briffett, Gang, & Ranasinghe, 2000). In many cases, sustainable and and screening), a simple scoring matrix was proposed in order to
green terms were used interchangeably (Kates, 2010), however sus- evaluate the influence of building materials in the achievement of
tainable building materials is a much broader term that fulfils more sustainable development goals and their relevant targets. The scoring
criteria and views than other terms (Sodiq et al., 2019). The demand for system has been reformed from the framework provided by Nilsson,
environmentally friendly and green building materials has increased Griggs, Visbeck et al. (2016). The aggregation of the contribution score
dramatically over the past few years and it is expected to push the has been achieved through the following two steps. Firstly, the litera-
building materials industry and construction growth in the next coming ture reviews have been used as an evidence base and point of entry to
years. In addition, the multifaceted nature of SDGs presents big op- identify the most and least significance contribution of the various ty-
portunities for building material to reveal its significant impact on the pology of building materials (introduced earlier in the procedure) in the
realization of sustainable development. According to Secher, Collin, realization of SDGs. Secondly, five points (from -1 to +3) and five
and Linnet (2018) building materials have a significant impact (direct scoring magnitudes (visible, reinforcing, enabling, invisible and con-
and indirect) on achieving a variety of goals and targets within sus- straining) have been proposed to indicate the contribution score. More
tainable development goals (SDGs), these goals include SDG3, SDG6, specifically, positive contributions are assigned scores of either +3
SDG7, SDG8, SDG9, SDG11, and SDG12. However, the link between (visible), +2 (reinforcing), or +1 (enabling), whereas contributions
building materials and SDGs remains briefly addressed in the literature, marked by trade-offs are scored with -1 (constraining). Also, a score of 0
thus a more systematic and theoretical analysis is required to fill this (invisible) is assigned if there is no knowing a positive or negative
gap, which contributes to further research. contribution. Besides the number system, a colour scheme has been
proposed to present the contribution scores, in which green colour re-
2. Materials and methods presents a positive contribution, red colour indicates negative con-
tribution, while plain colour shows no significant contribution. The
As stated previously, the integral nature of the SDGs indicates that a final contribution score has been done based on a basic reading of the
large number of potential interactions have to be considered within the assessed papers and prior knowledge (Table 2).
17 goals and 169 targets of the sustainable development agenda. The In the fourth step, a theoretical framework has been proposed for
proposed methodology is composed of the following five stages: i) ex- understanding those types of interactions and contributions between
tensive peer-reviewed studies were adopted from various online data- building materials and SDGs and their relevant targets. Building ma-
bases to define and categorize building materials, and to investigate the terials contribution score for each goal and target has been applied
link between different categories of building materials and SDGs, ii) across the framework. In the last stage, the interpretation of the fra-
integrating and grouping sources that addressed important insights the mework has been discussed and recommendations for future research
study, iii) development of a contribution score, iv) applying the ob- are raised.
tained scores to SDGs in a theoretical framework, v) refining and in-
terpreting the results of the framework. In Fig. 2, the methods used in 3. Results and discussion
this study are presented.
In the procedure first stage, to obtain the relevant articles for review 3.1. The contributions of building materials to the achievement of
in this study; three comprehensive databases were used as major lit- Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their targets
erature sources including Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus.
Additionally, the Google search engine was used as a source of defini- 3.1.1. Goal 1: end poverty in all its forms everywhere
tion to specific terms related to this topic. Further, grey literature re- The high rates of urbanization and population growth over the past
levant to this study were used as an additional source of information. few years have been associated with an enormous demand for building
This includes conference proceedings, expert and government reports, and infrastructure development (Ahmad, Zhao, & Li, 2019) which re-
websites, and policy documents. The terms: (Sustainable Development sulted in shortage and high cost of residence units, high rents, and poor
Goals; SDGs; UN agenda; 2030 Agenda) and (sustainable building ma- urban living environment (Ugochukwu & Chioma, 2015). Furthermore,
terials; green building materials; contribution; interaction; building the high cost of building materials is a serious challenge affecting
construction; built-environment) were used as search keywords. The against delivery of affordable homes, and public infrastructure and
immediate gain of this stage indicates the necessity of defining and basic services for low-income people, especially in rural communities.
selecting building material based on its surrounding environmental In this regard, local building materials (e.g. wood, sand, gravel, clay,
context. In other words, building materials should be identified and lime, etc.) can have a reinforcing contribution on ending some forms of
produced to maintain its performance with respect to variable context poverty as well as reducing the impact of buildings on the environment.
conditions at a particular location and time. Hence, defining terms The utilization of local building materials can cut the construction
categorize the range of building materials that could be adopted, with cost to its barest minimum by about 60% (Ugochukwu & Chioma,
the overall aim of achieving sustainable development agenda (As shown 2015), enable low-income people to get access to decent housing at
in Table 1). In addition, sources not written in English, and documents affordable cost with local technology while contributing to the reduc-
classified in subject areas other than the one under study are excluded. tion of poverty and building resilient local community, which reduce
The narrowed-down search resulted in 262 peer-reviewed journal ar- the local people exposure and vulnerability to the extreme external
ticles. environmental disasters (Celentano, Escamilla, Göswein, & Habert,
In the second stage, after obtaining all the publications for the re- 2018). Accordingly, locally produced building materials can participate
view, the process was continued by reading the keywords, abstracts and indirectly to achieve targets No. 1.4 (ensuring equal rights to economic
conclusions of each paper and scanning its content in order to ensure resources, basic services, ownership and control over land and other
that whether they are relevant to the proposed study or not. However, forms of property) and 1.5 (reducing the exposure and vulnerability to
92 papers have been assessed. Nevertheless, 60% of the selected articles climate-related extreme events) of this goal.
are published in the last five years in a period 2014–2019, since the On the other hand, the use of green, advanced, and energy-efficient
majority of academic papers which particularly focused on sustainable building materials may have a contradiction with SDG 1 and its related

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M.A.B. Omer and T. Noguchi Sustainable Cities and Society 52 (2020) 101869

Table 1
Definitions of terms for various categories of building materials.
Terminology Definition Author (s) Examples

Sustainable building materials Produced and sourced locally, they can be reused and recycled, they (Patil & Patil, 2017; Sandanasamy et al., Flyash concrete
utilize renewable sources, they use less energy, and they emit fewer 2011; Umar, Khamidi, & Tukur, 2012)
greenhouse gases and carbon footprint.
Green building materials Mainly are renewable materials or materials which can be reused (Cai & Sun, 2014; D & M S, 2018; Kubba, Bamboo flooring
and recycled and they have a low negative environmental impact 2017a; Spiegel & Meadows, 2010)
throughout their life cycle, they are durable, they use less energy
than conventional materials and they can offer a decent indoor
environment for the building’s occupants.
Alternative building materials Material or combination of materials which use available natural (Reddy & Jagadish, 2003; Zhang, Wong, Geopolymer brick
resources instead of conventional non-green resources to enhance Arulrajah, & Horpibulsuk, 2018)
the inefficient consumption of energy and supplies and to achieve
sustainability in buildings.
Local building materials Materials which can be found locally in a certain geographical (Morel et al., 2001; Ugochukwu & Mud and lime
location, they are affordable, minimally processed and inherently Chioma, 2015; Zhu et al., 2009)
low carbon.
Environmentally friendly/ safe Healthy materials that make optimal use of resources, produce (Januševičius, Mažuolis, & Butkus, 2016; Straw-bale
construction materials minimum waste, and they do not release toxic substances throughout Kubba, 2010; Petrović, Vale, Zari, &
their production and use phases, thus they are safe for people and Petrović, 2017)
environment
Energy-efficient building Energy-saving materials which have highly efficient thermal (Aditya et al., 2017) Insulated concrete form
materials insulating properties, thus reduce the heat gain and heat loss and
optimize the thermal performance of the building.
Low embodied energy building Extracted and manufactured through low-density industrial (Azari & Abbasabadi, 2018; Cabeza et al., Stabilized Earth Brick
materials processes, while low energy consumed throughout their production 2013)
phase.
Advanced building materials Economically sustainable materials designed to improved technical (Casini, 2019) Fibre-reinforced concrete
properties or environmental qualities compared to the vernacular
materials used to serve the same tasks. Thus, they have the capability
to increase productivity, decreasing construction time and positively
impacting the environment.
Durable building materials Materials which are capable to perform its desired functions during a (Bai, 2016) Steel
specific period of time, under defined outdoor and indoor climatic
conditions and construction of the assembly.
Responsibly sourced building Derived from known, renewable or recycled, legal and well-managed (Attia, 2018) Wood from sustainably
materials sources. managed forests

Table 2
The contribution scores of building materials.

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M.A.B. Omer and T. Noguchi Sustainable Cities and Society 52 (2020) 101869

targets due to their initial high cost. In addition, a large number of charge of 16% consumption of global water (Heravi & Abdolvand,
building materials (including local materials) were identified to contain 2019). So, the consumption of water in the construction industry has a
some form of toxicity (Isnin, Ahmad, & Yahya, 2013). These toxic direct influence on water scarcity. Along these lines, building materials
chemicals often have severe consequences on human health (SDG 3), consume water during the extraction and processing of the raw mate-
which in return impacts poverty levels. Therefore, applying inexpensive rials, through the production stage and throughout the construction of
local sustainable techniques to produce local materials that are af- the building. Therefore, increasing the use of green building materials
fordable, durable, environmentally friendly and extracted in a sus- and environmentally safe construction materials can reduce the em-
tainable manner can enable the achievement of this goal without hin- bodied water of construction materials and increase water efficiency for
dering the achievement of other goals. overall sustainable development (Abd El-Hameed, 2018; Das, Bera, &
Moulick, 2015). For instance, up to 20% reduction in water can be
3.1.2. Goal 3: ensure healthy lives and promote well-being achieved by using fly ash as a partial substitution of portland cement in
The link between building/ materials and human health is in- concrete (Chandra & Bendapudi, 2011).
creasingly recognized. Approximately, 1 in 4 of the total universal On the other hand, A number of construction materials (e.g.
deaths is assigned to environmental risk factors (Corvalán & Üstün, plumbing pipes, roofing materials, paints,) produce chemical hazards
2006). People spent more than 90% of their time in enclosed spaces (e.g. copper, lead and cadmium) when they have direct contact with
(Building 2030, 2017Building 2030, 2017), and accordingly indoor air water through treatment, storage and distribution. These chemicals can
typically responsible for over 90% of human exposure to pollutants be released from non-sustainable materials after putting in place (e.g.
(Hoisington et al., 2019). If they selected well, the materials of the polymeric and elastomeric compounds from plastic fittings or tank
building can play a major role in offering a healthy indoor environment linings) or due to the longer contact with water (e.g. soft water can
and promoting well-being for all at all levels. On the contrary, ha- increase metal pipes corrosion whilst hard water can cause scaling)
zardous materials (e.g. asbestos, formaldehyde, polychlorinated bi- (World health organization, 2010). Therefore, the selection of appro-
phenyls (PCBs), mercury and lead-based paint) have been found in priate materials (including green, alternative, environmentally safe,
several construction materials (e.g. insulation, cement, coatings, and responsibly sourced building materials) can reduce pollution,
roofing and flooring materials) and they have the potential to damage minimize the release of hazardous chemicals and afterwards improve
health and cause serious diseases, reduced growth, and could create the quality of water (Bardhan, 2011; Sheth, 2017).
what is known as a sick building syndrome (Kim & Yu, 2014; Passarelli,
2009; Petrovic´, Vale, & Zari, 2017; Sun et al., 2019; World Health 3.1.5. Goal 7. ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern
Institute-WHO, 2016). Additionally, less often discussed but equally energy for all
significant is the relation between the quality of building materials and Globally, around 48% of the energy is consumed in the construction
psychological health. People living in a better quality building have and operation of buildings (as embodied and operating energy) (Dixit,
fewer mental issues, including reduced anxiety and depression 2019). Nevertheless, building materials consume energy in every stage
(Hoisington et al., 2019). Hence, quality materials that bring warmth during their lifetime starting from the extraction of raw materials,
and an appropriate atmosphere to space are of key importance. manufacturing phase, transportation of materials to the project site, the
On the other hand, environmentally friendly, green, responsibly installation and assembly of building materials, energy used for mate-
sourced, and alternative building materials have a direct contribution rials maintenance during building use, and the energy use for demoli-
to provide a healthier indoor zones while enhancing the quality of the tion and transportation of the materials to the landfill or to recycling
built environment (Bragança, Mateus, & Koukkari, 2010; Cai & Sun, site at the end of building life (Huberman & Pearlmutter, 2008; Zabalza
2014; D & M S, 2018; Huberman & Pearlmutter, 2008; Kubba, 2010; Bribián, Valero Capilla, & Aranda Usón, 2011). In some cases, embo-
Patil & Patil, 2017; Sandanasamy, Govindarajane, & Sundararajan, died energy can represent 40% of the total energy required for a 50
2011; Spiegel & Meadows, 2010). Promoting the use of these materials years lifespan expectation (Thormark, 2006).
can prevent the users of the building from diseases of long duration and However, the use of local, green, environmentally friendly, alter-
low progression (non-communicable-or chronic-diseases) like lung native, energy-efficient, durable and low embodied energy building
diseases, cancer, damage to the liver and central nervous system, which materials reducing the energy used in buildings, improving the global
associated with hazardous chemicals emitted into the air from some energy efficiency and serving in achieving SDGs (Akadiri, Chinyio, &
building materials (Bartzis et al., 2008; FUCIC, 2012; Kim, Harrad, & Olomolaiye, 2012; Asif, Muneer, & Kelley, 2007; Basbagill, Flager,
Harrison, 2001; Zhang, Cao, Wei, & Zhang, 2018). Lepech, & Fischer, 2013; Cai & Sun, 2014; Dodoo, Gustavsson, & Sathre,
2012; Macaluso, 2010; Mpakati-Gama, Sloan, & Wamuziri, 2012; S.
3.1.3. Goal 4: ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote Ramesh, 2011; Reddy & Jagadish, 2003; Shams, Mahmud, & Amin,
lifelong learning opportunities for all 2012; Singh, Ishwarya, Gupta, & Bhattacharyya, 2015; Thormark,
Looking closely at target 4.7 of this goal (ensure that all learners 2006; Venkatarama Reddy, 2009; Zhu, Hurt, Correia, & Boehm, 2009),
acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable de- for example, 50% reduction in the total embodied energy can be
velopment), introducing the impacts of the various types of building achieved in masonry load-bearing buildings when energy-efficient or
materials on human health and environment, besides presenting their alternative building materials are used (Reddy & Jagadish, 2003).
importance to support sustainable development through education Furthermore, durable building materials can reduce the embodied en-
systems will be a key to achieve UN 2030 agenda and promote a sus- ergy by approximately 76% (50 years lifetime) (Rauf & Crawford,
tainable lifestyle for the next generation (Schmidt et al., 2017; Sichali & 2015), while using local building materials can achieve 215% reduction
Banda, 2017; Umar et al., 2009). Additionally, applying green building in embodied energy (Morel, Mesbah, Oggero, & Walker, 2001).
materials in the construction of various educational facilities will give
real examples for learners, increase the public awareness, and provide 3.1.6. Goal 8: decent work & economic growth - promote inclusive and
safe and healthy environments for people, nevertheless, it will enhance sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
the quality of the education and promote sustainability. The demand of building materials has been growing dramatically
since the 1990s and it is expected to continue developing in the coming
3.1.4. Goal 6. ensure availability and sustainable management of water and few years, determined in particular by the rapid industrialization and
sanitation for all urbanization growth and high level of material consumption in devel-
The construction industry consumes a massive amount of natural oped countries (Liming, 2011). A wide variety of people (skilled and
resources, for instance, natural materials, energy, and water. It is in semi-skilled labour force) involved throughout the materials lifecycle

7
M.A.B. Omer and T. Noguchi Sustainable Cities and Society 52 (2020) 101869

from raw materials extraction, production, installation, and main- tools to evaluate their environmental impacts throughout their lifespan.
tenance. Recently, the demand for green and alternative building ma- Local building materials produced from local responsibly supplies
terials in many countries have been accompanied by employing many achieve efficient utilization of natural resources. Building materials
people from various disciplines, which reflect the impact of building with green features are considered ecological, non-hazardous, non-
materials in the promotion of economic growth and employment. Also, polluting and non-radioactive materials (Cai & Sun, 2014). The use of
the innovation in building materials industry and technologies can lead these materials will achieve a healthy environment for human and
to higher productivity and better efficiency for the use of raw material minimize the negative effect of building on the built environment.
resources (WGBC, 2017). Green Building materials have a major role to play in reducing waste
through recycling, reuse and by using the cradle to grave approach
3.1.7. Goal 9: industry, innovation & infrastructure – build resilient (Kralj & Markič, 2008; Ng & Chau, 2015). Furthermore, the utilization
infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation of durable building materials is key to sustainable consumption, as their
The development of reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure use gives precedence to minimizing the amount of materials resources
is connected directly by using green, advanced, durable, alternative, employed and waste produced.
energy-efficient, low embodied energy, environmentally safe, and re- On the other hand, the effective use of building materials is con-
sponsibly-sourced building materials for the construction of these fa- tinually evaluated by various environmental assessment tools to ensure
cilities (Hossain, 2015; Pour-Ghaz, 2013). Their application in the the achievement of sustainability in buildings (Park, Yoon, & Kim,
construction of various infrastructures will ensure the quality and the 2017), while the use of green building materials has already en-
durability of infrastructure (Balasbaneh, Bin Marsono, & Gohari, 2019; couraged companies and construction stakeholders to implement sus-
Schlangen & Sangadji, 2013; Wu, 2006) while participating in the de- tainability in various projects all over the world.
velopment of clean, environmentally friendly and resilient infra-
structure. The innovation in building materials industry will upgrade 3.1.10. Goal 13: take urgent action to combat climate change and its
the development of adaptable, cost-effective and green infrastructure impacts
which can face the global challenges of climate change and future risks. The risks of extreme weather events are expected to grow as a result
On the other hand, locally available materials like wood, stone, of both climate change, increasing urbanisation and increased needs for
lime, and mud have been replaced by modern construction materials resources in urban areas (Andersson-sköld et al., 2015). However,
such as steel and cement due to durability concerns. Although modern building materials have a huge capability to mitigate the impact of
building materials are durable, they are costly, energy-intensive and buildings in the global greenhouse gases emissions and other climate-
harmful to health and well-being. Therefore, buildings structured with related hazards through the use of energy-efficient, green, en-
the main use of local building materials and well-selected modern vironmentally friendly and alternative building materials (Huang et al.,
construction materials will upgrade the creation of durable and en- 2018; Sagheb et al., 2011). To limit these negative impacts, various
vironmentally sound infrastructure (Leo Samuel, Dharmasastha, Shiva environmental assessment methods and tools have been created and
Nagendra, & Maiya, 2017). used to measure all the inputs and outputs of building materials
throughout their lifetime (Najjar, Figueiredo, Palumbo, & Haddad,
3.1.8. Goal 11: sustainable cities & communities – make cities inclusive, 2017) and many countries integrated these tools to their national po-
safe, resilient and sustainable licies and strategies (Klijn-Chevalerias & Javed, 2017). Supporting and
By 2050, it is expected that 70% of the world’s population will live encouraging the use of these tools and strategies all over the world, can
in cities (Silva et al., 2018; United Nation-UN, 2014) with an expected occur great achievement regarding the SDGs.
increase of the urban residents in developing world from 2.7 to 5.1
billion between 2011 until 2050 (J, 2015). This predicted growth is 3.1.11. Goal 14: conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine
supposed to create several sustainability challenges, communally on resources for sustainable development
infrastructure and the environment (Akande, Cabral, Gomes, & Although most of the built-environment is located on land, its im-
Casteleyn, 2019; Bibri & Krogstie, 2017; Han et al., 2017; Steverson & pacts move to oceans. The built environment and building materials
Steverson, 2018). If not properly controlled, the rapid urbanization can within the coastal watershed have indirect impacts on the sustainability
enlarge informal housing and poverty, poor waste management, in of oceans and marine resources and they can form a permanent source
addition to, poor living conditions in cities. Therefore making green and of pollutants, as rainwater passes through the materials of the roofs,
healthy cities is considered a very important issue to achieve a sus- facades, and roadways and enters the nearby rivers and seas. Hazardous
tainable future for the world (Balaban & Puppim de Oliveira, 2017; construction materials (e.g. metal with high zinc content and copper)
Giles-Corti, Lowe, & Arundel, 2019). For no doubt, buildings are the can cause serious persistent toxicity and bioaccumulation to the marine
foundations of cities and communities, therefore building materials are environment, animals, and plants. Therefore, the use of alternative,
key to their long-term sustainability. Using locally available building green, environmentally safe, and responsibly sourced building mate-
materials can reduce the construction cost, minimize the negative im- rials protect the ecosystem habitats and achieve the related sustain-
pacts of the buildings on the environment (Bredenoord, 2017; Kayode & ability targets (Perkins & Will Architects, 2016; Petrović, Vale, Zari, &
Olusegun, 2013), and ensure access to affordable housing and basic Zari, 2017).
services. Moreover, applying green, alternative, environmentally safe,
and responsibly sourced building materials is a key for creating a sus- 3.1.12. Goal 15: Life on land – sustainably manage forests, combat
tainable community which will support the preservation of natural re- desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss
sources and minimize various environmental impacts associated with The number of buildings and cities on land is rapidly increasing, and
material’s extraction, transport, production, erection, maintenance, and thus biodiversity and ecosystems are under intense pressure due to this
demolition waste (Port, 2007). event. The production and processing of building materials have an
indirect impact on biodiversity, the extraction of building materials
3.1.9. Goal 12: ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns through mining and quarrying can be altered or even destroyed the
Building materials industry plays a major role in promoting sus- natural habitats and species in the quarrying sites (Sahu & Dash, 2011).
tainable public procurement, through supporting the use of green, al- The above operations require large quantities of water and energy, and
ternative, environmentally safe and responsibly sourced building ma- they have the potential of generating wastes and pollutants (Fugiel,
terials for various construction practices to minimize the environmental Burchart-Korol, Czaplicka-Kolarz, & Smoliński, 2017). Also, promoting
impacts, and by encouraging the use of environmental assessments the application of local building materials may have negative impacts

8
M.A.B. Omer and T. Noguchi Sustainable Cities and Society 52 (2020) 101869

on coastal ecosystems from which the building materials are removed, local and private programs and training have been established in many
and on their preservation and restoration. Therefore, promoting the use countries to assist and encourage the implementation of green building
of green (renewable and recyclable), and responsibly sourced building materials by sharing knowledge, experiences and professional practice
materials is a key element to achieve sustainability and to ensure better (Nußholz, Nygaard Rasmussen, & Milios, 2019) (Table 3).
conservation of natural resources as well as it can play a major role to
combat desertification and restore degraded land and soil. The utili- 3.2. Building materials contribution framework
zation of safe and efficient technologies during the extraction and
processing of building materials consider an essential task to mitigate The contribution of building materials in the achievement of 2030
their environmental impact (Bloodworth, Scott, & McEvoy, 2009). Also, sustainable development agenda has been clearly noticed in various
the encouraging use of responsibly sourced building materials and re- goals. However, for some goals; unless we take a deeper look at each
cycling approach can have a major role to preserve biodiversity and target, it would be very difficult to notice the influence of building
natural habitats (Opoku, 2019). materials on that goal. This clarifies the fact that while most of the 17
SDGs are presenting one of the three sustainability pillars, the three
3.1.13. Goal 17: strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the dimensions are actually inserted within their targets. Moreover, it ex-
global partnership for sustainable development plains the importance of implementing SDGs as an indivisible whole,
The innovation in building materials industry will lead to a sig- even though it remains a challenge.
nificant process to strengthen the partnership between the various Few authors have proposed frameworks to understand how to
construction stakeholders, in order to support the achievement of sus- achieve one or more goals of the SDGs by implementing building ma-
tainable development goals in all countries. Nevertheless, numerous terials. In this study, the authors have reformed the seven points

Table 3
Building materials various contribution to the SDGs and their relevant targets (Ahmad et al., 2019; Bartzis et al., 2008; Bragança et al., 2010;
Bredenoord & van Lindert, 2010; Building 2030, 2017Building 2030, 2017; Cai & Sun, 2014; Celentano et al., 2018; Corvalán & Üstün, 2006; Isnin
et al., 2013; Ugochukwu & Chioma, 2015; D, S., & M S, L., 2018; FUCIC, 2012; Huberman & Pearlmutter, 2008; Kim et al., 2001; Kubba, 2010;
Passarelli, 2009; Patil & Patil, 2017; Petrovic´ et al., 2017; Sandanasamy et al., 2011; Spiegel & Meadows, 2010; Steinemann, Wargocki, &
Rismanchi, 2019; Sun et al., 2019; World Health Institute-WHO, 2016; Zhang, Cao et al., 2018; Schmidt et al., 2017; Sichali & Banda, 2017; Umar
et al., 2009; Abd El-Hameed, 2018; Bardhan, 2011; Das et al., 2015; Heravi & Abdolvand, 2019; Sheth, 2017; World health organization, 2010;
Akadiri et al., 2012; Asif et al., 2007; Basbagill et al., 2013; Cai & Sun, 2014; Dixit, 2019; Dodoo et al., 2012; Huberman & Pearlmutter, 2008;
Macaluso, 2010; Morel et al., 2001; Mpakati-Gama et al., 2012; Ramesh, 2011; Rauf & Crawford, 2015; Reddy & Jagadish, 2003; Shams et al.,
2012; Singh et al., 2015; Thormark, 2006; Venkatarama Reddy, 2009; Zabalza Bribián et al., 2011; Zhu et al., 2009; Liming, 2011; WGBC, 2017;
Balasbaneh et al., 2019; Hossain, 2015; Pour-Ghaz, 2013; Schlangen & Sangadji, 2013; Wu, 2006; Akande et al., 2019; Balaban & Puppim de
Oliveira, 2017; Bibri & Krogstie, 2017; Bredenoord, 2017; Giles-Corti et al., 2019; Han et al., 2017; J, B., 2015; Kayode & Olusegun, 2013; Port,
2007; Silva et al., 2018; Steverson & Steverson, 2018; United Nation-UN, 2014; Cai & Sun, 2014; Kralj & Markič, 2008; Ng & Chau, 2015; Park
et al., 2017; Andersson-sköld et al., 2015; Huang et al., 2018; Klijn-Chevalerias & Javed, 2017; Najjar et al., 2017; Sagheb et al., 2011; Perkins &
Will Architects, 2016; Petrović, Vale, Zari, Zari et al., 2017; Bloodworth et al., 2009; Fugiel et al., 2017; Opoku, 2019; Sahu & Dash, 2011;
Nußholz et al., 2019. Note: B.M. is standing for Building Materials.

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M.A.B. Omer and T. Noguchi Sustainable Cities and Society 52 (2020) 101869

Table 4
A framework shows the contribution score of building materials in the achievement of SDGs and their relevant
targets.

interaction matrix introduced by Nilsson, Griggs, Visbeck, Ringler et al. 3.2.1. Direct positive contribution
(2016) for the building materials. Furthermore, comprehensive ex- All the typologies of Building materials stated in this research
planations and classifications of building materials regarding their plainly have a direct positive contribution (Visible +3) to promote
contribution to the achievement of the 17 SDGs and their targets have health and well-being, improve the energy efficiency of the building,
been conducted. The framework successfully fulfilled its ambition to foster sustainable industrialization and innovation, create sustainable
provide clear findings by identifying factors, theories, and measures cities and communities, upgrade sustainable public procurement and
which can be employed for assessing and qualifying the suitability of play a major role to mitigate the impact of the built environment in the
building materials towards achieving sustainable development in the universe. Hence, they participate directly in the achievement of SDG 3,
construction sector. SDG 7, SDG 9, SDG 11, SDG 12, SDG 13, and SDG 15 respectively. The
The proposed framework showed that building materials have a attainment of the mentioned SDGs is associated directly by the use of
direct and indirect contribution to the achievement of several SDGs and green, alternative, local, environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, low
targets. It is found that building materials have a significant role to embodied, advanced, durable, and responsibly sourced building mate-
achieve 13 goals and 25 targets of the UN 2030 Agenda. The scoring rials for the construction of the buildings and various infrastructure
method illustrated in this paper proposes measures by which complex worldwide.
and wide-ranging scientific data can be described in a form of an in- The framework showed that green, alternative, environmentally
formation framework to help policymakers and construction stake- friendly, and responsibly sourced building materials are the most sig-
holders to understand the role of building materials in the realization of nificant typologies of building materials, which play a major role to
SDGs (As shown in Table 4). Thus, the scale of the score, in either di- accomplish most of the SDGs. The presented examples on the frame-
rection, gives an indication of how various typology of building mate- work concerning SDG 3 (health and well-being) showed that increasing
rials contribute positively or negatively to achieve 2030 agenda. The the awareness of the impact of building materials on health, wellbeing,
positive contributions can be separated into two categories; direct and and productivity by applying non-toxic and healthy building materials
indirect. Direct positive contribution (+3) indicates that building ma- (the four most significant typologies) should be considered as a top
terials have enviable participation to the achievement of the goal and it priority for the achievement of this goal and other SDGs. Furthermore, a
is relevant targets, while indirect positive contribution means building remarkable contribution of building materials has been noticed in SDG
materials implicitly enabled or aided in the achievement of that goal or 12 (ensure sustainable consumption and production pattern), in which
target. However, the indirect contribution has been presented on a scale building materials have the potential to achieve 5 sustainable devel-
of two numbers (+2 and +1) indicating that the impact of building opment targets within the goal. The use of responsibly sourced and
materials in achieving SDGs are not aimed at primarily. environmentally safe construction materials, as well as green and al-
The above table includes five columns. The first includes the sus- ternative materials, can minimize the use of natural resources and
tainable development goals (SDGs); the second detects the best con- material consumption, and decrease the use of toxic substances as well
tribution score of building materials in each goal; the third identifies as reduce the waste and pollutants over the material life cycle.
the contribution name; the fourth finds the best building materials ty- Moreover, the framework revealed that the whole mentioned
pology to achieve the goal, and fifth shows the targets in which building typologies of building materials are fundamental to the sustainability of
materials can have higher contribution score to achieving them. infrastructure (SDG 9), thus they actively participate to mitigate cli-
mate-related disaster (SDG 13), as well as they, have a significant
contribution to building resilience cities and communities in a larger

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M.A.B. Omer and T. Noguchi Sustainable Cities and Society 52 (2020) 101869

context (SDG11). In addition, energy-efficient, low embodied energy SDGs in a single framework. Additionally, the scoring system that is
and durable building materials have the potential to reduce the total developed within the framework to assess the contribution of building
energy consumption of the building, minimize the global carbon foot- materials on the achievement of SDGs is based on broader measures
print and greenhouse gas emissions while contributing visibly to ac- which indicate more advancement to fit in real construction practices.
complish the SDGs (include SDG7, SDG9, SDG 12, and SDG 13). Also, However, a scoring scale based on identified and agreed criteria to
promote the use of green and responsibly sourced building materials evaluate different building materials might be considered in future re-
have indirect input to combat desertification and preserve biodiversity search.
via the wise conservation of material resources (SDG 15). Nevertheless,
the framework illustrated that building materials have a direct influ- 4. Conclusions and outlook
ence on reaching 17 targets within the above mentioned SDGs.
The conceptual framework presented in this research is initiated to
3.2.2. Indirect positive contribution support integrated thinking in building materials contribute to the at-
Following the framework, indirect positive contributions (+2 and tainment of the SDGs as well as to show how the selection of appro-
+1) have been shown in a range of SDGs including SDG 1, SDG 4, SDG priate building materials achieves long-lasting sustainable development
6, SDG 8, SDG 14, and SDG 17. An indirect relationship has been re- outcomes. The seven points interaction matrix introduced previously by
vealed, in which building materials have indirect effect on sub-in- Nilsson, Griggs, Visbeck et al. (2016) has been adapted as a scoring
dicators which lead to the achievement of the desired goal or target, for scale for building materials throughout the current study. This paper
instance, using local building materials can reduce the construction describes the state-of-the-art review of the SDGs, with a particular
cost, which in turn help poor people to build their own homes and emphasis on their applications and linkages with the buildings gen-
reduce their exposure to the harsh outdoor environmental hazards, and erally and with building materials specifically. Then, the framework is
ultimately ending some forms of poverty (SDG 1). intended to give an example of how building materials contribute to the
Building materials have a higher capability to aid the achievement achievement of various sustainable development goals and targets. In
of SDG 6 and SDG 8 and four of their associated targets. In this line of short, there is a lack of information on this topic and more research is
thoughts, green, alternative, environmentally safe, and responsibly needed.
sourced building materials are the main critical typologies to enhance It should be noted that the nine typologies of building materials
the water efficiency in the construction sector and to improve its global presented a twofold role; as they contributed negatively and positively
quality. Likewise, they can provide safe and healthy environments, in reaching the SDGs. Although not every linkage between building
which endorse decent work and sustainable economic growth. Another materials and SDGs can be described by using the five points scale, the
example has been presented in SDG 14, in which the use of green, al- aggregation of the scale indeed classified most of the interactions. The
ternative, environmentally safe, advanced, and responsibly sourced framework developed in this paper revealed that building materials
building materials in place of traditional materials can have an indirect have a remarkable contribution to the achievement of 13 goals and 25
impact in protecting coastal and marine ecosystems. Moreover, the targets of the UN 2030 Agenda. They influence the enhancement of
framework signified that the nine typologies of the building materials well-being, increasing energy and water efficiency, promoting re-
can attain a healthy indoor environment and sustainable education sponsible consumption and production, building resilient infrastructure
infrastructure which sequentially enhance the education quality and and sustainable cities, and they have a huge capacity to mitigate cli-
offer good learning opportunities (SDG 4). mate change while accelerating the achievement of SDGs. Based on the
findings, green, alternative, environmentally friendly, and responsibly
3.2.3. Negative contribution and trade-off sourced building materials are the four most significant building ma-
Due to the fact that sustainable and green building materials are terials typologies which have a significant contribution in realizing
likely to have a direct influence on reducing global health and en- most of the SDGs.
vironmental impact, their affirmative contributions in the achievement An advantage of the developed framework is that investigating the
of sustainable development outnumbered their negative contribution. contribution of building materials in the achievement of sustainable
Thus, negative contributions can be seen in limited spots within the development goals and target impose the demonstration of basic un-
study. In several cases, using local building materials creates restraints. derstanding and awareness between designers, project developers,
For instance, the extraction of local materials from a specific geo- policymakers, professionals and construction stakeholders on how the
graphical location to build low cost housing participate in offering af- classification and the selection of building materials have a significant
fordable housing for the poor people of that region and contributing on impact in reaching sustainability and mitigating climate hazards. It also
the achievement of target 1.4 (end some form of poverty), while this allows broad multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder discussions and of-
action may hinder the progress of target 14.1 (prevent and significantly fers a possibility to integrate knowledge required in policy formulation
reduce marine pollution of all kinds, particularly from land-based ac- and realization of SDGs. The framework is expected to convert the
tivities), target 15.3 (combat desertification), and target 15.5 (reduce sustainable development goals and their targets into a measurable tool
degradation of natural resources). So, promoting the use of local to be achieved in the practice and guide the decision-making process
building materials may have negative impacts on coastal ecosystems successfully. Moreover, the gathered data offers useful visions about the
from which the local raw materials are removed, and may affect the possibilities and difficulties of implementing building materials to
conservation and restoration of the natural resources and habitats. achieve sustainability and it contributes to the identification of further
However, promoting wise conservation of material resources and en- potential themes within the topic that need more investigation.
couraging the use of responsibly sourced materials can mitigate this The findings suggest that the selection of building materials based
gap. A further contradict has been noticed with the application of on their performance on health and environment should be considered
green, energy-efficient, advanced, and durable building materials. The as one of the most essential steps to achieving SDGs. Building materials
higher initial cost of the above-mentioned materials make them beyond should be identified based on the overlapping benefits from the com-
the affordability limit of the target people and may hinder the bined characteristics of the mentioned nine typologies. Therefore, it is
achievement of SDG 1 (End poverty). essential to create a multi-criteria optimization tool based on identified
Although the framework gives clear findings; the academic litera- sustainability indicators to evaluate the efficiency of building materials
ture review proved that building materials differ greatly in their impact before integrating them into buildings. However, more discussion is
on the environment and due to this complex nature it is impractical to required on the limitations of the employed data sources and adopted
study the interlinkages between all types of building materials and methods.

11
M.A.B. Omer and T. Noguchi Sustainable Cities and Society 52 (2020) 101869

In the future, research supposes to show how each type of building role for accounting research. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal. https://
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