© 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited.Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present an innovative approach for the development of a methodology to systematically assess the economic performance and for the assessment of the economic sustainability of a building, through the calculation of an economic sustainability index, within the sustainability framework according to the rules defined in EN 16627. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology follows the principle of modularity, where aspects and impacts that influence the economic performance of the building during the phases of its life cycle are assigned to levels. It presents a model based on the construction costs of the building. The methodology in centered in the before use phase and restricted to residential buildings. Findings: Definition of a model for assessing the economic performance and calculation of an economic sustainability index. Research limitations/implications: The methodology is focused only in the before use phase of the buildings, assuming they have the same functional equivalent. It can be expanded to include the other phases of the building life cycle. Practical implications: The developed methodology will allow the selection of construction procedures, based on economic sustainability, contributing to more rational and support decisions. Social implications: Contributing to a more sustainable society. Originality/value: The European framework of EN 15643 and EN 16627 for the assessment of building sustainability is new and, as such, not implemented in most practical tools. Also, economic sustainability is not usually considered in detail in existing models. This paper presents a methodology following the framework and, simultaneously, possible to integrate in existing approaches.

© 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, London, UK.Standard EN 16627:2015 was created to support the development of assessment methodologies for the economic performance of buildings, within the sustainability concept. It is based on a life cycle analysis where the impacts and aspects allow characterization of the economic performance, but do not exhibit valorisation methods nor define reference values (benchmarks). The purpose of this paper is to present the benchmarks used for the normalization of the parameters of the hierarchic structure of a Methodology of Assessment of Economic Performance-Residential Buildings (MAEP-RB). This methodology implements a systematic and simultaneous assessment of the performance and economic sustainability of buildings. The results of the economic performance are expressed in monetary units and economic sustainability is expressed by an Economic Sustainability Index (A+, A, B, C, D, and E).

© 2016 Taylor & Francis Group, London.Assessment systems and sustainability certification of buildings plays an important role in the design, construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of a building. They promote the integration of economic, social and environmental aspects in building sustainability. A Methodology of Assessment of Economic Performance of Residential Buildings (MAEP-RB) which is an innovative approach to systematic evaluation of economic performance of a building within the concept of sustainability, based on the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) according to prEN 16627:2013 has been developed. The purpose of this article is to present the results of the application of Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP) to determine the hierarchical structure of the weighting system of MAEP-RB in order to achieve a consistent and rational model of analysis.