Advancing Sustainable Construction Management Through Decision Support System

Dear Colleagues,

With this proposed Special Issue, ‘Advancing Sustainable Construction Management Through Decision Support System’, we aim to explore the integration of intelligent decision-making tools and digital frameworks to promote sustainability in the construction industry. As a major driver of economic growth, the construction sector is also responsible for significant environmental and social impacts, including resource depletion, waste generation, and carbon emissions. As such, managing construction sustainably requires data-driven, systematic, and transparent decision processes that balance economic, environmental, and social dimensions. In this Special Issue, we seek to address these challenges by presenting novel research and applied approaches where Decision Support Systems (DSSs), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Building Information Modeling (BIM), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methodologies contribute to sustainable construction management.

The focus of this Special Issue is on the development, validation, and application of decision support frameworks that enhance sustainability outcomes throughout a project’s life cycle, from design and planning to operation and decommissioning. The scope includes technological, managerial, and policy perspectives, encompassing topics such as digital twin integration for resource optimization, DSSs for circular economy practices, risk-informed sustainability assessment, and decision models supporting green procurement and materials selection. The purpose is to create a scientific platform that connects theory with practice, offering both academic insight and actionable tools for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers.

This Special Issue will supplement the existing literature by bridging the gap between theoretical sustainability assessment and practical decision implementation in construction management. While previous studies have explored sustainability assessment tools or construction management independently, fewer works have integrated DSS frameworks that operationalize sustainability principles in real-world decision-making contexts. By combining computational intelligence, data analytics, and sustainability metrics, the contributions will highlight how DSSs can quantify and monitor sustainability performance dynamically, supporting more resilient and resource-efficient construction ecosystems.

In line with the scope of Sustainability, this Special Issue will advance interdisciplinary dialog on how decision support systems can help define, measure, and monitor sustainability, addressing socio-economic and environmental trade-offs. It will also emphasize the development of integrated frameworks that align with policies, standards, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Ultimately, the Special Issue will contribute to a deeper understanding of how digital decision-making tools can accelerate the global transition toward sustainable, low-carbon, and equitable construction practices.

Prof. Dr. Leonas Ustinovichius
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• sustainable constructiondecision support systems (DSS)
• construction management
• building information modeling (BIM)
• sustainability assessment
• life cycle analysis (LCA)
• smart construction technologies
• environmental performance
• multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM)
• sustainable infrastructure development