Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Assessing Sustainable Homes: Towards the Establishing of a Sustainability Index – The Case of Libya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65405/3kapm553Keywords:
sustainable homes; sustainability indicators; Sustainability Assessment Models; Libya.Abstract
Construction is a major contributor to environmental problems, including excessive consumption of natural resources and pollution of the surrounding environment. However, research aimed at minimising these adverse impacts remains fragmented. Assessment processes are dominated by a single merely monetary based approach which is insufficient to handle the current problem. Sustainability Assessment Methods (SAMs) have emerged to transcend the financial perspective and target the construction performance over multiple dimensions of social, environmental as well as economic aspects. Although a wide variety of sustainability assessments have existed in literature at the international level, little systematic effort has been applied to develop methods for assessing construction performance in the specific context of Libya. Hence developing a national assessment scheme is becoming necessary due to the considerable environmental, social and economic problems, along with poor resources and their inefficient use. This article is an attempt to fill this gap, aiming to contribute to better comprehension of the concept of sustainable homes and foster a paradigm shift through developing an integrated, structured set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to be used for assessment of public housing development projects. This aim has been achieved through satisfying three objectives: integrated analysis of four well-known assessment tools from various countries across the world, a focus group interview with various stakeholders, and a large-scale questionnaire. Recommendations are proposed which aim to enhance the performance of public housing projects and promote the change towards more sustainability
Downloads
References
Abdudayem, A. & Scott, A.H.S. (2014) Water infrastructure in Libya and the water situation in agriculture in the Jefara region of Libya, African J. Economic and Sustainable Development, 3(1), pp. 33–64.
Abdul-Rahman, H. Wang, C. & Ebrahimi, M. (2016) Integrating and ranking sustainability criteria for housing. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers Engineering Sustainability, 169, pp. 3–30.
Ahmed, L., Peyvandi, A., Soroushian, P., Balachandra, A., & Sobolev, K. (2015) Evaluation of modified-graphite nanomaterials in concrete nanocomposite based on packing density principles. Construction and Building Materials, 76, pp. 413–422
Akadiri, O. (2011) Development of a multi-criteria approach for the selection of sustainable materials for building projects. PhD Thesis, University of Liverpool
Alafya, A.Y. and Maka, A.O.M. (2025) ‘Analysis of energy consumption for residential building: A case study in Libya’, Journal of Umm Al-Qura University for Engineering and Architecture, 16, pp. 265–272.
Albarssi, S., Hou, S.S. and Gróf, G. (2025) ‘The state of the art of residential building energy retrofits in Libya and neighbouring Mediterranean countries: A comprehensive review’, Energies, 18(1), 183
Ali, H. & Al Nsairat, S. (2009) Developing a green building assessment tool for developing countries Case of Jordan. Building and Environment, 44, pp. 1053-64
Almansuri, A., Curwell, S. & Dowdle D. (2009) Climatic Design Strategies in Hot Regions: An Application of Tripoli-Libya In: COBRA Research Conference. November 10th-11th 2009, South Africa: University of Cape Town: RICS.
Alossta, A., Eltariki, I., Elmansouri, O. and Badi, I. (2024) ‘Optimizing construction and demolition waste management strategies in Libya: A FUCOM-EDAS multi-criteria decision-making approach’, Journal of Green Economy and Low-Carbon Development, 3(4), pp. 258–272. doi: 10.56578/jgelcd030405.
Alyami, S. Rezgui, Y. & Kwan, A. (2013) Developing sustainable building assessment scheme for Saudi Arabia: Delphi consultation approach. Renewable Sustainable Energy Reviewing, 27, pp. 43–54.
Amer, A. (2007) Comparison studying of traditional and contemporary housing design and measuring people's satisfaction with reference to Tripoli, Libya. PhD Thesis, University of Salford.
Buijlayyil, M., Kiraz, A. and Lemamsha, H. (2025) ‘Sustainability education for post-disaster recovery: A qualitative study of community and policy perspectives in Derna, Libya’, Sustainability, 17(22), 10181. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/su172210181
CEDARE (2014) Libya Water Sector M&E Rapid Assessment Report. Monitoring & evaluation for water in North Africa (MEWINA) Project.
Cole, R. J. (1998) Emerging trends in building environmental assessment methods. Building Research and Information, 26, pp. 3-16
Cole, R. (2005) Building environmental assessment methods: redefining intentions and roles. Building Research and Information, 33, pp. 455-67
DGNB (2022) User communication, New buildings criteria set, version 2018 (online) Retrieved at: https://www.dgnb-system.de/en/system/version2018/index.php
Ding, G. (2009) Sustainable construction: The role of environmental assessment tools. Journal of Environmental Management, 86, pp. 451-64
EIA (2013) Energy Information Administration. [webpage] Retrieved at: https://www.eia.gov/analysis/studies/worldshalegas/pdf/Libya_2013.pdf
Elgadi, A., Ismail, L., Al Bargi, W. &Suliman, A. (2016) Selecting Indicators for the Sustainable Development of Residential Neighbourhoods in Tripoli, Libya, International Engineering Research and Innovation Symposium. IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 160 (2016) 012045.
El-Hasia, A. (2005) The Effects of State's Construction Procurement Policy Implementation on the Outcome of Local Construction Projects: The Libyan Case, PhD thesis, University of Salford, UK.
Fenner, R., & Ryce, T. (2008) A comparative analysis of two building rating systems. Part 1: Evaluation. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers Engineering Sustainability, 161(1), pp. 55–63.
Gherbal, N. (2015) The Influence and Evaluation of the Project Managers Performance in the Libyan Construction Industry. PhD Thesis. Coventry: Coventry University UK
Higham, A., & Stephenson, P. (2014) Identifying project success criteria for UK social housing asset management schemes. In: Raiden, A. & Aboagye-Nimo, E. (Eds.), Proceedings 30th Annual ARCOM conference, Association of Researchers in Construction Management, Portsmouth, 1st-3rd September 2014, pp 33-42.
IEA (2022) ‘International Environmental Agency’, [Webpage] https://www.iea.org/countries/Libya/
Iesa M, Awooda H, Konozy E, & Musa O. (2017) Wheezing alone is not enough to validate asthma diagnosis among Libyan adults: A questionnaire-based study reinforced with pulmonary function test. Sudan Med Monit; 12, pp. 25-29.
Alnnale, T. (2026). From Reactive to Proactive Governance: A Hybrid LSTM–Gradient Boosting Architecture for Real-Time Anomaly Signal Detection in Multi-Store Retail Supply Chain Decision Systems. Al-Farooq Journal of Sciences, 2(1), 987-1005.
Jain, R. (2013) Role of Recycled and Geosynthetic Materials in Enhancing Civil Engineering Environment. Direct Research Journal of Engineering and Information Technology, 1 (1), pp. 1-12, ISSN 2354-4155
MHU (2015) Features of National Housing Policy in Libya. ‘Ministry of Housing & Utilities’ Tripoli, Libya.
Mohamed, A. (2013) Towards more sustainable urban forms in the city of Benghazi: A study of urban fragmentation at the neighbourhood level. PhD thesis, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment.
Muzioreva, H., Musonda, I. and Gumbo, T. (2026) ‘Digital tool applications in construction and demolition waste management: A systematic mapping review’, Frontiers in Built Environment. doi: 10.3389/fbuil.2026.1765571.
MWR & CEDARE (2014) Libya 2012 state of the water report. Monitoring & evaluation for water in North Africa (MEWINA) Project, Ministry of Water Resources, CEDARE.
National Economic and Social Development Board (2023) The National Strategy of Sustainable Energy 2023–2035. Libya: National Economic and Social Development Board.
Ngab, A. (2007) Libya - The Construction Industry – An overview, CBM-CI International Workshop, Cement based material and civil infrastructure, Karachi, pp. 201-209.
Rees, W. (2009) The ecological crisis and self-delusion: implications for the building sector. Building Research and Information, 37(3): 300-11.
RIBA (2014): Sustainability is driven by personal commitment. (online) Retrieved at: http://www.architecture.com
Shawesh, E. (2016) Architecture and Urban Planning Department. International Journal of Research Studies in Science, Engineering and Technology, 3(10), pp. 11-16
Shebob, A. (2012) Development of a methodology for analysing and quantifying delay factors affecting construction projects in Libya. PhD Thesis, Teesside University.
Shibani, A. & Gherbal, N. (2016) Application of Balanced Scorecard in the Libyan Construction. International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management Detroit, Michigan, USA, 23rd-25th September 2016, IEOM Society International Industry.
Sune G. (2022) Healthy Homes Barometer, 7th ed, VELUX A/S (online) retrieved at: https://velcdn.azureedge.net/-/media/com/healthy-homes-barometer/hhb-2022/velux-hhb-2022.pdf.
Susanti M., Ova C., Toga H. (2020) 10 Criteria of Sustainable Housing: A Literature Review, Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 475.
Svensson, G. & Wood, G. (2003) The Dynamic of business Ethics: A Function of Time and Culture-cases and Module Management Decision.
Tupenaite, L., Lill, I., Geipele, I. & Naimaviciene, J. (2017) Ranking of Sustainability Indicators for Assessment of the New Housing Development Projects: Case of the Baltic States. Resources, (6)55, pp. 1-21.
UNDP Libya (2026) Libya launches 2050 National Water Security Strategy to combat scarcity and build climate resilience. United Nations Development Programme.
UPA (2006) National Spatial Policy 2006-2030, Tripoli: Urban Planning Agency.
USGBC (2013) LEED Reference Guide for Homes Design and Construction, Washington, D.C., U.S. Green Building Council.
WHO (2010), WHO Guidelines for indoor air quality: selected pollutants The WHO European Centre for Environment and Health, Bonn Office, ISBN 978 92 890 02134.
