Project title
Enhancing Embodied Carbon Benchmarking in the Saudi Arabian Construction Sector: Towards an Enhanced Mostadam Rating Framework Aligned with LEED v5 BD+C
Project abstract
The Saudi Arabian construction sector is undergoing rapid expansion under Vision 2030, yet embodied carbon representing a significant proportion of whole-life building emissions remains largely unquantified within national green building certification. This research addresses a critical gap in Mostadam, Saudi Arabia's national green building rating framework, which currently contains no mandatory embodied carbon quantification, benchmarks, or reduction targets. Through documentary gap analysis comparing Mostadam (2019) against LEED v5 BD+C (2025), supported by structured expert elicitation (n=20; α=0.876), the study identifies six critical governance gaps and proposes a targeted five-enhancement framework. The proposed enhancements including a mandatory LCA prerequisite, Saudi-specific carbon benchmarks, and graduated reduction targets are designed to align Mostadam with international best practice and directly support Saudi Arabia's 2060 net-zero commitment.