A systematic review of green construction research using scientometrics methods

Construction activities can cause significant negative impacts on the environment, primarily due to the massive use of vehicles and construction machinery. Researchers have conducted various studies in recent years on reducing the environmental impact of the construction process while ensuring the financial and technical viability of the project. However, a comprehensive and in-depth overview of the existing studies to find out the major knowledge domains and gaps is still rare from the construction management perspective. This study investigated the state-of-the-art green construction research over the past decade by using scientometrics methods. In this study, 1342 papers published between 2010 and 2020 were retrieved from the Web of Science for review. The latest advances in the green construction domain and the research gaps in these previous studies were identified from the scientometrics analysis. Furthermore, a list of relevant suggestions for future research directions to bridge the major knowledge gaps was proposed. Overall, the knowledge gained from this study will help construction practitioners to better formulate green construction strategies and implement green construction projects. •Three major themes of green construction research are summarised and collated.•Insufficient quantitative evidence on ROI to prompt green construction adoption is identified.•Current LCA/LCCA tools cannot well support the management of green construction.•Low level of integration of BIM-related technologies and assessment tools for GC is identified.•The study on the impact of the selection of green building materials is insufficient.