Application of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Approach COPRAS for Developing Sustainable Building Practices in the European Region

Sustainable building practices face various problematic areas in the European region, such as climate change, high initial costs for sustainable materials and technologies, regulation, sourcing sustainable materials, performance, staff competencies, energy efficiency, waste management, environmental quality and impact, community perception and awareness, integration with existing infrastructure, and others. In order to address these problems, it is essential to adopt appropriate methods and techniques that facilitate informed decision-making and the creation of sustainable strategies for developing building practices. One of the methods for analyzing and developing sustainable building practices is multi-criteria assessment methods that allow for the consideration of multiple criteria simultaneously, providing a more holistic view of the alternatives being assessed. These methods enhance the transparency of the decision-making process by clearly defining the criteria and weights used in the evaluation, and they can be adapted to various building practices. In this study, the COPRAS (Complex Proportional Assessment) method was chosen which is a multi-criteria decision-making method that provides a systematic and quantitative approach for evaluating and ranking alternatives based on multiple criteria and ensures a more objective and data-driven decision-making process. This study aims to analyze the development peculiarities of sustainable building practices in the European region by applying the COPRAS approach and method. In this study, a scientific literature review, the COPRAS method, and expert evaluation were applied. The results of the expert evaluation showed that confidence in the quality and structural properties of secondary materials (traceability) criteria received the highest weight among other criteria. Applying the comprehensive COPRAS method highlighted that assessing the set of criteria is vital for the construction and manufacturing sectors. These findings could be significant for policymakers in developing sustainable building practices.