Construction and building industry is in dire need for developing sustainability assessment frameworks that can evaluate and integrate related environmental and socioeconomic impacts. This paper discusses an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) based sustainability evaluation framework for mid-rise residential buildings based on a broad range of environmental and socioeconomic criteria. A cradle to grave life cycle assessment technique was applied to identify, classify, and assess triple bottom line (TBL) sustainability performance indicators of buildings. Then, the AHP was applied to aggregate the impacts into a unified sustainability index. The framework is demonstrated through a case study to investigate two six storey structural systems (i.e. concrete and wood) in Vancouver, Canada. The results of this paper show that the environmental performance of a building in Canada, even in regions with milder weather such as Vancouver, is highly dependent on service life energy, rather than structural materials. Keywords: life cycle assessment (LCA); sustainability assessment; concrete frame building; wood frame building List of abbreviations AHP analytic hierarchy process ANP analytic network process BEES Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability CFC chlorofluorohydrocarbons CI consistency index CR consistency ratio EP eutrophication potential EPA Environmental Protection Agency GDP gross domestic product GWP global warming potential HVAC heating, ventilation, and air conditioning LCA life cycle assessment LCC life cycle cost LCI life cycle inventory LCIA life cycle impact assessment LCSA life cycle sustainability assessment MCDM multiple criteria decision making

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The building sector has a huge impact on the environment; it consumes 30-40 % of global natural resources and 40 % of energy. The impacts of the building sector can be reduced drastically by implementing a netzero approach in both design and sustainability management of buildings. Net-zero building is a building system that uses sustainable materials and produces its needed energy and water throughout its life cycle. Unlike green buildings, there is a limited number of sustainability rating systems for net-zero buildings (e.g., Living Building Challenge). Despite the importance of geographical characteristics and local environmental conditions, spatial consideration in green and net-zero buildings is largely lacking in the literature. Considering the variability of environmental behavior around the globe and its significant effects on energy, water demands, and availability of construction materials, it is a major shortcoming to ignore the role of geography in net-zero buildings. This paper discusses a new methodology in the assessment of net-zero buildings by integrating regional characteristics and life cycle sustainability assessment. The methodology outlined in this paper can assist in sustainability design and decision making of net-zero buildings.

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Building industry is a major cause of ecological and environmental problems in the global scale. It accounts for 40% of material and 30% of global energy consumption. Emergy (spelled with an "m") is the energy of one kind (usually solar energy) that is used, directly or indirectly, to make a product or service. The objective of this paper is to identify sustainable construction materials by assessing the specific emergy of major construction materials used in Canada, including a few rapidly renewable materials suggested by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Lifecycle analysis (LCA) of the selected materials was carried out to identify all type of natural, human, and energy resources used in their production process. The specific emergy of each selected material was calculated using the corresponding transformity functions. Results show that rapidly renewable materials suggested by LEED should not be taken blindly without considering the location of construction.