Actors and barriers to the adoption of LCC and LCA techniques in the built environment

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the existing barriers to the slow adoption of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) in construction, and the main responsible actors. Design/methodology/approach – The research design is based on a two-phase approach. First, the existing literature was studied through a multiple-step content analysis (CA) approach, which combined unsupervised concept mapping with computer aided CA. Using a relational CA approach, statistical-based analysis tools were initially used to identify the relationships between actors and barriers. Later, a Delphi study was administered to a panel of experts, to triangulate, validate, and refine the initial results. Findings – The study revealed that organizational culture is the most relevant barrier, and that clients and professionals are the actors that predominantly influence the adoption of LCC and LCA in projects. Technical and financial barriers, such as the lack and quality of input data and the high costs of implementation are also deemed relevant. Research limitations/implications – The CA was performed by a single rater on a sample that included 50 papers in English language. Future research may focus on enlarging the sample, extending it to other languages, and linking the source (or the expert) to their professional context to evaluate geographical differences in barriers. Originality/value – The adopted approach gives new insights on the relationships behind the rejection of LCA and LCC suggesting that solutions at the organizational level may be more effective than technical ones.