A review of building-scale LCA tools: recent trends, gaps and future directions

This study reviews active building-scale LCA tools in North America to evaluate how effectively they support the transition toward net-zero and carbon-negative design. A structured Characterization Framework was developed through a targeted literature review and stakeholder input to identify key features that enable low-carbon building design. Thirteen continuously updated and widely used tools were analyzed to assess trends, gaps, and opportunities. The results reveal positive developments such as greater self-sufficiency through embedded defaults, expanded life-cycle scope, and enhanced user control. However, significant gaps persist, including limited treatment of carbon sequestration, dynamic climate modeling, and novel material integration, as well as inconsistent data, simplistic scenarios modeling and limited functionality for early-stage design. Overall, while building LCA tools are becoming more transparent and flexible, advancing time-sensitive impact modeling, carbon sequestration accounting, and interoperability with design workflows will be essential to achieve more accurate, consistent, and forward-looking assessment that enable carbon-positive building practices.