## 4 Discussion
### Environmental Impacts  
Environmental issues in construction have gained significant prominence in recent years, as the industry is responsible for approximately 40-50% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions [135]. Additionally, global primary energy consumption and consequent GHG emissions have increased by an average of 2% annually since 1950 [136]. These GHG emissions, primarily carbon dioxide (CO\({}_{2}\)), have been identified as the main cause of global average temperature rise [137]. One of the primary sectors contributing to high CO\({}_{2}\) emissions is the residential sector (associated with energy consumption for heating and cooling) and the building construction industry, particularly the construction phase [138]. In this context, sustainable materials have been shown to significantly reduce emissions throughout the life cycle of buildings, especially thermal insulation materials, which also help reduce operational stage cooling demand [139]. Furthermore, industrialized construction methods, like prefabrication and modular construction, offer innovative and sustainable solutions to address the global housing demand. These approaches not only stand out for reducing costs and construction times, thereby increasing productivity, but also generate significant environmental benefits by optimizing processes and materials, managing logistics, and implementing cutting-edge technologies. Resource efficiency, coupled with the ability to adjust housing dimensions and adapt designs to changing occupant needs, is presented as a key response. Additionally, focusing on industrialized construction aims to minimize improvisation during construction and improve work quality.  
On the other hand, for the development of new industrialized construction solutions, it is crucial to identify the stages and materials that contribute most to environmental impacts. For example, in modular construction, the use of concrete and steel stands out for significantly reducing waste [140]. Strategies such as component reuse and efficient material management are fundamental pillars to enhance the sustainability of construction projects. Some studies have demonstrated that materials, due to their production stage, contribute most to emissions during the construction phase of a project, accounting for up to 90% in some cases [62,100]. Therefore, efforts in the environmental management of construction should focus on using sustainable materials, optimizing processes, and implementing strategies like just in time (JIT) to minimize waste on construction sites, especially with modern construction methods facilitated by technology to achieve these objectives [63].  
However, despite being perceived as more environmentally friendly, prefabricated construction faces challenges, such as fragmentation and lack of interoperability. It is sensitive to the selection of appropriate construction techniques, which is essential for accurately assessing environmental impacts. Furthermore, there is an expectation in the scientific literature to broaden the range of reported impact categories and pay attention to other categories that have gained interest in recent years, such as ozone depletion and terrestrial acidification [141, 142, 143]. Despite these challenges, modern methods show great potential to address the housing crisis and improve environmental sustainability in the construction industry.