A recent development in the field of digital construction demonstrates how digital twins can become a decisive tool for understanding the climate impact of buildings. By integrating data on design, materials, energy use, and operational performance, the digital model enables a more accurate identification of which building components and which life-cycle stages concentrate the highest carbon emissions.

The approach combines BIM technologies with dynamic analyses that simulate the building’s real behaviour, going beyond traditional static calculations. In this way, it assesses not only the embodied emissions in materials such as concrete or steel, but also the operational carbon associated with energy consumption over time. The result is a detailed mapping of emission sources that supports more informed decisions at early design stages as well as in retrofit processes.

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