A new approach for built environment monitoring in a low carbon future

The real estate industry, which accounts for 40% of the global CO2 emissions, is a huge and ignored source of the climate crisis.

To reach the net zero goals and support the Paris Climate Agreement that aims to limit the rise of global temperatures, we need to reduce the carbon emissions from the buildings and structures we live and work in.

The focus of transitioning away faster lies not only in enhancing the efficiency of existing stocks, but also in improving resource consumption efficiency and promoting green construction.

The priority areas encompass urban planning and transportation, building construction and operations, building retrofit and renovation, as well as carbon accounting and reporting. These fields will entail various measures such as building retrofit, digitization of building data, implementation of building automation models, adoption of green materials, and the incorporation of circulator methodologies, among others.

Achieving the net-zero goal in real estate demands a collective endeavor, necessitating global, uniform regulations and commitments alongside fabric-first and green construction methodologies. The effective integration of ClimateTech solutions will significantly contribute to addressing this pressing global challenge.

Within this ecosystem, energy retrofit holds significant importance since it accounts for the highest percentage of CO2 emissions, falling under Scope 1 Operational CO2. However, it represents just one aspect of the overall solution. While collecting and monitoring data on energy consumption can aid real estate stakeholders in reducing their CO2 footprint, it alone is not sufficient to achieve the net-zero target. The approach of modeling the entire building ecosystem as a whole, encompassing aspects like energy, water, indoor environmental quality, and waste, is crucial. This holistic method not only enhances consumption efficiency but also paves the way towards achieving net zero goals. By comprehending the complete equation, we can identify the most optimal solutions. Since all building functions are interconnected, monitoring their conditions conjointly allows us to extract greater value from existing assets. The climateTech trends reveal that building functions are often treated as separate, independent entities. However, they are integral parts of a broader ecosystem, comprising numerous other building functions whose impacts can interconnect and influence each other.

The efficiency of the building can be increased by modelling and monitoring the entire building functions ecosystem and optimising the control of each individual function accordingly.

The current trends in the climateTech landscape suggest that building functions are predominantly monitored and managed in isolation, with a primary focus on maximizing their individual efficiency. This approach often overlooks the potential detrimental impacts on other interconnected functions. Monitoring platforms may concentrate solely on one aspect, like water management or energy management, and might even provide equivalent GRESB points or benchmarks for other ESG benchmarking companies. However, in practice, real estate stakeholders rarely require only this isolated data point for their ESG submissions. While it may appear promising on paper to achieve a certain percentage reduction in emissions through energy management, this approach seldom leads to a comprehensive net-zero strategy. Instead, it often becomes a mere checklist for emission reduction without considering a sustainable, long-term plan. A more sustainable approach would involve examining the data holistically, considering the entire building ecosystem, the complete environmental impact, and involving all relevant stakeholders and players in the process. Consider a green lease for a commercial building, which necessitates collaboration between both the owner (e.g., HVAC system replacement) and the tenants (e.g., monthly data submission). The question arises: who will benefit from these efforts? Without incentives for owners beyond regulations, will they prioritize HVAC replacement if cost savings are not shared with tenants? Are the regulations and policies clear about the responsibilities of each stakeholder, including owners, tenants, occupants, and asset managers?

The built world is incredibly diverse, with no two sites being identical, and lacks easily accessible data like other industries to fully leverage the benefits of advanced AI technologies. By collecting data comprehensively, we can eliminate data silos and promote the integration of specialized knowledge, cutting-edge AI technologies like GPT, sustainable supply chains, and more. However, a shortage of building design and construction data hinders climate-tech solutions from offering efficiency gains comparable to other industries.

Moreover, buildings will need to adhere to a carbon budget, necessitating comprehensive building data to effectively manage and reduce emissions. Achieving Net Zero primarily hinges on having complete, high-quality data before considering other aspects.

The adoption of high-definition Digital Twins will facilitate the real estate sector’s transition towards a low-carbon future.