Stakeholder Perspectives on BIM-LCA Integration in Building Design: Adoption, Challenges, and Future Directions
Sara Parece, Ricardo Resende, Vasco Rato
Abstract
Europe's ambitious net-zero carbon targets compel the AEC sector to adapt quickly. Mandatory whole-life carbon declarations will require stakeholders to quantify environmental impacts using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and take action to reduce them. However, LCA is widely perceived as complex, time-consuming, and costly. Building Information Modelling (BIM) has the potential to streamline LCA processes (e.g. quantity take-off). Although research on BIM–LCA integration has grown substantially since 2013, the extent of its adoption in practice remains unclear, and the perspectives of end-users have been largely overlooked. This study addresses this gap by assessing BIM-LCA adoption and end-user challenges through a mixed-method approach: a survey of 62 stakeholders and a focus group with six LCA specialists. Results show that while 85 % of participants apply sustainability strategies, only 53 % have experience with LCA, and 29 % use BIM–LCA tools. LCA is most often conducted at late design stages, primarily to comply with certification requirements. Barriers reported include the lack of comprehensive environmental databases, limited interoperability, high information requirements, repetitive manual tasks (e.g., editing the BoQ and mapping BIM and LCA data), lack an interactive process (real-time feedback), and limited support for result interpretation. Participants expressed strong interest in early-stage parametric modelling, continuous performance monitoring, real-time BIM synchronisation, and integrated multi-criteria decision analysis and multi-objective optimisation. This study goes beyond diagnosis by identifying recent developments that address these user challenges and outlining priorities for user-centred BIM–LCA development across four areas: Data & Standardisation, Automation & Digital Tools, and Decision Support methods.