Alhassan, T.; Owusu-Ansah, A.; Kidido, J. K. and Adjei-Twum, A. (2026) Climate change adaptation in facilities management: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, 44(4), pp. 867-884. ISSN 2398-4708
Abstract
Purpose – As climate change increasingly impacts the built environment, facilities managers are faced with the need to adapt building operations, maintenance and infrastructure to mitigate climate-related risks and enhance resilience. This study explores climate change adaptation in facilities management through a systematic review of peer-reviewed empirical research, providing global evidence and identifying gaps in the existing literature. Design/methodology/approach – The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) criteria were used to guide this systematic review of literature published from 2014 to 2023. Three relevant databases (Scopus, Science Direct and Google Scholar) were searched, based on this review's search terms. The study employed thematic content analysis to examine the results from the 20 selected articles. Findings – The results demonstrate the adverse effects of climate change on the built environment. Impacts such as increased property damage risk, reduced safety and poor air quality, among others, were identified. The study found that stakeholders in the built environment lacked climate change awareness. The adaptation strategies and barriers identified were largely generic and did not specifically focus on FM. Generally, the review revealed that literature on this subject in terms of the FM industry is scanty, dispersed and narrowly focused. This creates a knowledge gap for future research to help enhance climate change adaptation in the FM sector. Practical implications – The lack of empirical evidence and theoretical development hinders the FM sector's ability to respond effectively to climate-related challenges. This gap highlights the need for further studies on climate change adaptation in facilities management. Originality/value – The study highlights the need for further research on climate change and facilities management based on the current state of literature on this subject.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | barriers; climate change adaptation; facilities management; impacts; stakeholders; strategies |
| Index terms: | climate change, meta-analysis, methodology, database, adaptation, science, facilities manager, strategy, air quality, evidence, building operation, content analysis, facilities management, systematic literature review, built environment |
| Subjects: | climate science, data analysis and analytics, research methods, specialized education, practitioner, research evaluation and metrics, infrastructure and transport systems, data management, management, user focus, evaluation and assessment methods |
| Topics: | Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Education, Business Strategy, Sustainability, Digital Applications, Design Practice, Urban Studies |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here