Humphrey Danso* Department of Construction and Wood Technology, University of Education, Ghana *Corresponding author: Humphrey Danso, Department of Construction and Wood Technology, University of Education Winneba, P.O. Box 1277, Kumasi, Ghana, Email: Submission: December 21, 2017; Published: February 19, 2018 Dimensions and Indicators for Sustainable Construction Materials: A Review Introduction Sustainability is a concept which is concern with the environmental, social and economic development in different specializations such as economics, engineering, construction, ecology and health to meet the present and future needs. Sustainable construction is therefore the adoption of materials and products in buildings and construction that will require less use of natural resources and increase the reusability of such materials and products for the same or similar purpose Keung [1]. Building construction and operations have significant direct and indirect impacts on the environment (Wahlström et al. [2]). The current mainstream building materials and methods are producing large amounts of CO 2 both during construction and throughout a building’s life (Peach [3]). According to Khatib [4] construction managers, researchers and academics have a major role to play in sustaining our environment, through efficient utilisation of natural resourced, re-use and recycling. The main objectives of sustainable construction activities are to avoid resource depletion of energy, water, and raw materials and prevent environmental degradation caused by facilities and infrastructure throughout their life cycle (Wahlström et al. [2]). The sustainability of construction technology and materials is increasingly on the international agenda, as demonstrated by Environmental assessment tools such as BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) in the UK, and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), its equivalent in the USA (Fielding et al. [5]). Example of sustainable materials include wool bricks, solar tiles, sustainable concrete, paper insulation, triple-glazed windows (Peach [3]). For construction of walls, earth-based technologies offer the best solutions for long-term sustainable construction development. Rammed earth (RE) and stabilised soil block (SSB) techniques appear to be the most appropriate, with the added advantage of providing culturally acceptable solutions in sub- Saharan Africa (Fielding et al. [5]). The choice of materials will be heavily influenced by what is available locally, following the principle of minimising transport costs as well minimise the use of high energy materials, such as metal and cement (Fielding et al. [5]). Sustainable construction has three main dimensions: environment, social and economic. Each of these dimensions can be characterised by number of indicators. The indicators available in literature are provided in different forms depending on the focus of each study, without considering construction materials in general. This paper therefore provides a review of the general and relevant available indicators for measuring sustainable construction materials. The review consists mainly of sustainability assessment, sustainability indicators, environmental dimension, social dimension and economic dimension for construction materials and analytical hierarchical process in sustainable construction materials assessment. Sustainability Assessment Sustainability is a highly integrated concept, whereby environmental, social and economic factors are decidedly inter- related (Mailler [6]). Sustainability requires the reconciliation of environmental, social equity and economic demands, also known as the “3 Es” or the “3 pillars” of sustainability. The term sustainability Review Article Research & Development in Material Science C CRIMSON PUBLISHERS Wings to the Research 1/9 Copyright © All rights are reserved by Humphrey Danso. Volume 3 - Issue - 4 Abstract Sustainable construction practices are provided to reduce resource depletion and prevent environmental degradation caused by construction activities and products. The purpose of this paper is to review the general and relevant available indicators for measuring sustainable construction materials. The paper outlines the main idea behind sustainability assessment. It also reviews the critical sustainability indicators which are grouped under the 3Es, thus environmental, social equity and economic dimensions. Furthermore, it highlights the analytical hierarchical process in sustainable construction materials assessment. The paper concludes that it is important to identify the relevant sustainable indicators for construction materials and be able to measure the indicators following the analytical hierarchical process. Keywords: Construction materials; Sustainable construction; Sustainable indicators ISSN: 2576-8840