A Systematic Review of Life Cycle Cost Assessment into Circular Economy Toward Building Construction: Current Challenges

One of the critical criteria for determining the sustainability of building construction is project cost. The circular economy concept is instrumental in moving toward sustainability. Consequently, evaluating the life cycle cost of a project is an invaluable tool in advancing sustainability efforts. The goal of this study is to evaluate literature on the expansion in life cycle cost analysis related to the circular economy. We conducted a bibliometric analysis and systematic review of life cycle cost and economic evaluations, considering the circular economy. We used the Scopus database, one of the most respected sources for publications on this topic. The co-occurrence of keywords, geographical distribution, and main sources of research were analyzed for 47 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and conference papers. Initial screening revealed an interesting growth in the number of publications in 2024, with 16 new contributions. Italy had the highest contribution with 12 published manuscripts, followed by Belgium and the USA, each with six publications. The number of citations has been increasing rapidly each year, attesting to the growing attention of scholars to the merger of cost-effectiveness with circular economy principles. Timber, steel, and concrete are the most common materials studied in previous research. Presently, there is no robust method for calculating the LCC of a product or system and many researchers are using different methods for this purpose. Some studies considered the LCC for each environmental impact category, while some others considered the LCC of materials. This study has identified a knowledge gap for future research in this area. The current limitations in assessing life cycle costing (LCC) include the use of varying methodologies, short-term estimates, lack of comprehensive databases, and the inability to account for non-monetary costs. Similarly, the gaps and limitations in assessing the Circular Economy include challenges with open-loop systems, lack of incentives, absence of standardization, and issues related to temporal variability.