Advancing Sustainable Industrialisation in the AEC Sector: A Systematic Review of MMC, Lean Management, Circular Economy and Socio-Digital Enablers

The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry plays a crucial role in global economic development, but it is also a major contributor to environmental degradation and resource consumption. Despite increasing alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the sector remains highly fragmented, with limited integration of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), Lean Management, Circular Economy and Socio-Digital Enablers frameworks into a unified sustainability model. This review article employs the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology to systematically identify and analyse existing literature and address these research gaps. The PRISMA procedure was conducted through a structured process involving the identification of studies from Scopus and Web of Science databases using predefined keywords related to SDGs and the AEC sector. It was followed by screening and eligibility assessment based on publication type, timeframe (2022–2026), subject relevance, and full-text accessibility, resulting in a final dataset of 42 studies for analysis and then applying bibliometric analysis (Biblioshiny and VOSviewer) to define thematic clusters. The results reveal strong research concentration on SDG 11, SDG 12, and SDG 9, while SDG 2 and SDG 14 remain underexplored within the AEC literature. The findings also highlight that the convergence of MMC, Lean Management, Circular Economy practices, and social and digital technologies increasingly drives sustainable industrialisation. A structured content analysis is further conducted to categorise approaches, barriers, and implementation strategies across the four identified components of industrialisation. Overall, this study contributes a comprehensive and integrated framework for understanding sustainable industrialisation in the AEC sector and provides a structured evidence base to support future research and policy development aligned with the SDGs.