A Comprehensive Framework for Evaluating Blockchain-Based Systems: Embodied Carbon Management in Construction Industry

Embodied carbon in the construction industry is a significant contributor to global carbon emissions. With growing emphasis on carbon neutrality and carbon pricing, the need for effective carbon accounting has become increasingly important. However, inefficient carbon information sharing, driven by the complex and fragmented nature of construction supply chains and the complicated quantification process, hinders carbon accounting. A blockchain-based system is believed to offer a potential solution, but limited research exists on its application. Additionally, existing blockchain-based studies often focus on computable metrics during evaluation, overlooking system design objectives and industry stakeholders’ needs. To address these gaps, this study proposes a public blockchain-based carbon management system for embodied carbon information sharing and quantification in the construction industry. It also introduces a comprehensive evaluation framework to verify and validate the system. The research's contributions include: (i) exploring the application of blockchain for sharing and quantifying embodied carbon information in construction supply chains, and (ii) introducing a comprehensive evaluation framework to assess the functional suitability, performance efficiency, usability, system effectiveness, and industry impacts of a blockchain-based system.