455 MULTI-CRITERIA SELECTION OF THE ONE FLAT DWELLING HOUSE, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE CONSTRUCTION IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT Milena Medineckienė 1 , Zenonas Turskis 2 , Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas 3 , Jolanta Tamošaitienė 4 Department of Construction Technology and Management, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Sauletekio ave.11, LT-10223 Vilnius, Lithuania. E-mail: 1 milena.medineckiene@vgtu.lt; 2 zenonas.turskis@vgtu.lt ; 3 edmundas.zavadskas@vgtu.lt; 4 jolanta.tamosaitiene@vgtu.lt Abstract. The article describes a multi-criteria selection of the one flat dwelling house, taking into account the con- struction ecological aspects, their impact on environment and their economic and social condition. A problem of a global climate change is discussed, how construction industry determinate the CO 2 emission to an atmosphere, how a construction material manufacturing impacts to an environment. The best alternative selection of the one flat dwelling house is presented. The first house is masonry, built from standard materials, the second is the blockhouse, made mostly of wood-based materials, and the third is built of wood frame, using a wood-based materials and mineral- based materials. The weights of criteria are determined by applying AHP method. The best alternative is selected by applying the SAW (Simple Additive Weight), COPRAS (COmplex PRoportion ASsessment), and MEW (Multiplica- tive Exponential Weighting) methods. Keywords: construction, material, environment, impact, MCDM, SAW, MEW, COPRAS, AHP. Introduction Global climate change is one of the most serious global environmental problems faced by humankind at present (Wu and Zhang 2008). The world is becoming an increasingly urban place. About 65 % of the world's population is expected to live in urban areas by the year 2025 (Schell and Ulijaszek 1999). The civil construction industry is not only one of the biggest sectors in the economy but is also one of the greatest polluters (Ilha et al. 2009). The construction sector plays a major role in the development of society. It wields enormous influence over economic activity, em- ployment and growth rates. However, it also has a sub- stantial impact on the natural environment, the effects of which are evident across the world. Over recent decades, initiatives have proposed environmentally friendly build- ings and sustainable construction has centered on residen- tial and office buildings (Lombera and Aprea 2010). Buildings have a significant and continuously increasing impact on the environment because they are responsible for a large portion of carbon emissions and use a consid- erable number of resources and energy (Castro – Lacou- ture et al. 2009). To meet the Kyoto target of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 20 % by 2010 the UK government has in- troduced a number of measures to achieve energy con- scious buildings and promote sustainability within the built environment. One of the devices through which to do this is the Building Regulations, which were originally introduced to ensure public health and safety, but are increasingly seen as a tool for limiting the environmental impact of the built environment on natural resources (Hamza and Greenwood 2009). Construction industry, though quite specific, obeys the same laws of economy as other sectors (Kapliński 2008). To find and accept the right decision in construc- tion industry is difficult problem. Decision maker usually has too little information and it is usually incomplete. The help for the decision making is application of the multi- criteria decision making (MCDM) techniques and their modifications. Impact of construction materials on environment and ecoproducts’ industry Transformation of raw materials into construction materials generates roughly 50 % of all atmospheric emissions of CO 2 . Therefore, there is an onus on the ar- chitectural and engineering professions to integrate envi- ronmental protection mechanisms into their work, so as to comply fully with environmental requirements (Kan- gas 2004).