A comprehensive literature review on risk identification and assessment in green building construction projects

Abstract

Building green for sustainability cannot be over-emphasised, considering the current environmental crises. Green buildings minimise environmental degradation and reduce consumption of depletable resources while providing maximum occupancy satisfaction. Despite the numerous studies of risk assessment in Green Building Construction Projects (GBCPs), limited attention has been given to methodologies that enable risk evaluation from the projects' inception to the end of their service life. Secondly, the existing methods do not consider the accumulated knowledge and experience obtained from previous risk assessment models. Finally, existing studies fail to provide a detailed description of each risk, as they only list them, leading to ambiguity in the practical sense. A scientometric analysis was performed to reveal the current research trend of risk identification in GBCPs. This study systematically reviewed relevant literature from the last two decades until the end of 2024 to collate the most influential risks associated with GBCPs. From the systematic literature review, a total of forty-two (42) risks were identified and defined clearly before further grouping them into nine (9) mutually exclusive categories to ease targeted assessments. The knowledge-based approach was proposed for identifying and evaluating the risks due to its unique nature of enabling long-term analysis by tapping into the accumulated knowledge and experience from previous evaluation models. The knowledge-based approach emphasises establishing a strong foundation involving risk scope definition, identification, analysis, response planning, execution, and monitoring and control as a feedback system supporting risk evaluation throughout the service life of the project. After the analysis, it was found that the risk evaluation studies in GBCPs need to create assessment models that consider the post-construction variables and the accumulated knowledge of previous evaluations. Secondly, a clear description of each risk eases its categorisation for tailor-targeted assessment. The current limitations include limited collaboration between developing and developed countries and a scarcity of empirical research in developing nations. The study proposes future research opportunities in green building risk studies to promote research growth, highlights the need for holistic risk management frameworks, and fosters sustainable construction practices globally.