Best Practices: Optimizing And Decarbonizing Construction Through Early-Stage Digitization
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Executive Summary
For decades, the construction phase has been treated as a delivery problem to be optimized for cost and schedule, with carbon handled separately and late – if at all. That separation no longer holds. The data captured, or lost, during design and construction now determine both how efficiently a project is delivered and how much carbon is locked into the finished asset, with much of this fixed before construction even begins. Early-stage digitization is the connective tissue between these two agendas, yet adoption remains uneven, governed less by the maturity of the technology than by who mandates it, how it is contracted and whether the incentives align. This report draws on direct interviews with leading construction management software vendors, embodied carbon specialists, engineering consultancies and energy-as-a-service providers to set out best practices across digital tools, processes and supply chain, and contracts, incentives and workforce, to help firms optimize and decarbonize construction through the decisions they make earliest.About the Authors
Henry Yared
Analyst
Henry is an Analyst at Verdantix, specializing in digital platforms for energy management and building performance optimization. His research focuses on improving operational ...
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Claire Stephens
Research Director
Claire Stephens is a Research Director at Verdantix, leading research into technologies and services shaping the real estate and the built environment, encompassing ...
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