Abdhy Gazali, Muhammad Sapto Nugroho, Wildan Nachdy, Annisa Nurrahmawati
Lean Construction has been widely applied to improve efficiency and reduce waste in construction projects; however, its relationship with carbon emissions remains predominantly examined from material-based perspectives. This study explores how non-physical waste in Lean Construction such as waiting, downtime, and making-do relates to carbon emissions during project execution. This study employs a structured literature review to synthesize research on Lean–Green construction, focusing on relationships between process-based waste, waste-related outcomes, and carbon-generating activities. The findings indicate that non-physical waste contributes to carbon-relevant impacts through time-based and process-related inefficiencies, including extended activity durations, idle equipment operation, and repeated processes. Rather than causing direct material loss, these waste mechanisms indirectly increase the intensity and duration of carbon-generating activities. As a key contribution, this study proposes a structured analytical framework, including a generalized proxy formulation, to relate non-physical waste to carbon emissions based on additional operational time and activity-level carbon intensity. The framework complements existing material-based carbon assessments and provides a basis for future empirical validation. © 2026, International Group for Lean Construction. All rights reserved.
Building Engineering Education, State University of Jakarta (UNJ), Indonesia; Civil Engineering Department, Universitas Trisakti, Indonesia; Manager Environment & Health, QHSE Division, PT PP (Persero) tbk., Indonesia
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