A REVIEW ON SUSTAINABLE BUILDING MATERIALS AND THEIR ROLE IN ENHANCING U.S. GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE GOALS

Abstract

This study presented a comprehensive systematic review of sustainable building materials and their role in enhancing U.S. green infrastructure goals, focusing on their environmental performance, structural functionality, and policy integration within national sustainability frameworks. Guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology, the review examined 78 peer-reviewed papers published over the past two decades, encompassing a wide range of material innovations, life-cycle assessments, and infrastructure applications. The objective of this research was to synthesize scientific, technical, and policy-based evidence that explains how sustainable materials contribute to the design, implementation, and resilience of green infrastructure systems in the United States. The reviewed studies collectively demonstrated that low-carbon cementitious binders, bio-based composites, and recycled materials significantly reduced embodied carbon and energy while improving durability, water management, and heat mitigation performance. Quantitative analyses across the selected papers revealed that the substitution of traditional construction materials with sustainable alternatives reduced greenhouse gas emissions by up to 70% and extended the service life of pavements, roofs, and stormwater systems through enhanced resilience to environmental stressors. Moreover, the integration of permeable pavements, green roofs, and recycled aggregates supported improved hydrological balance, pollutant filtration, and thermal regulation across urban landscapes. The study further found that U.S. federal and state-level programs—such as the EPA Green Infrastructure Program and the FHWA Sustainable Pavements initiative—had facilitated innovation through research funding, performance guidelines, and policy incentives, although challenges remained in data standardization, cost variability, and regional material supply chains. The synthesis emphasized the importance of interagency collaboration, interdisciplinary research, and transparent life-cycle reporting to accelerate market transformation and policy coherence. Overall, the review concluded that sustainable building materials play a pivotal role in advancing the ecological, economic, and social dimensions of green infrastructure, serving as critical enablers of climate resilience, resource efficiency, and long-term urban sustainability in the United States.