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Watts et al. Carbon Footprints 2025, 4, 27 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/cf.2025.20 Page 7 of 16

Despite the increasing focus on the interconnection of DTs and SDGs, there remains a gap in existing
knowledge around the role policy guidance has on the use of DTs in the construction industry to help
support the SDGs. This is especially pertinent from the perspective of industry practitioners with most
previous studies drawing conclusions from literature reviews. This research aims to ascertain which policy
environments help and hinder DT technology, and therefore which serve to help or hinder SDG
achievement.

METHODOLOGY
Whilst sustainability is arguably an interpretivist ontological concept, the SDGs metrics and targets adopt a
more positivist perspective. DTs also follow suite with a clear definition and standard criteria around what
is and is not a DT. Despite the concepts under investigation holding strong positivist ontological
perspectives, an interpretivist approach is adopted for this research. It is the understandings and perceptions
of each concept that are sought. Therefore, a constructivist approach will enable deeper insights to be
ascertained pertaining to the barriers encountered by participants. Such barriers will be understood through
an interpretivist epistemological approach, whereby enquiries are made into subjective knowledge and
[54]
shared meanings of social actions . This approach lends itself to the collection of qualitative data.
Qualitative research methods attempt to explore understandings that cannot be easily expressed in numbers
[55]
and figures and instead place a greater focus on deeper meanings . There are ongoing academic
discussions pertaining to the SDGs and a small but growing body of literature regarding SDGs and the UK
construction industry, and even smaller body that also discuss DTs. This paper, therefore, adopts an
inductive approach to address the current paucity in contemporary research. This research seeks to utilise
the capture and analysis of qualitative data to ascertain which policy environments help and which hinder
DT technology adoption, and therefore which serve to help or hinder SDG achievement.

As a qualitative research strategy advocates a focus on understandings and interpretations, this research
adopts interviews as the most appropriate research tool to capture participant thoughts, ideas, and
perceptions . Semi-structured interviews are adopted as these allow interviews to be structured around the
[56]
areas of core importance but allow interesting and applicable avenues of information that arise during the
interview to be pursued . Semi-structured interviews allow complex topics to be discussed, and a greater
[55]
level of insight to be gained than through alternative methods such as open ended questionnaires, as well as
allowing follow up questions to be asked if initial responses lack clarity or focus . The research was divided
[57]
into three distinct stages to gain a greater insight into the different phenomena under investigation. For
each stage a process of purposeful sampling was undertaken to identify those participants who were best
placed to inform the topics discussed. Narrative analysis was used as both a method of structuring the
interview questions and analysing the results gained. Narrative analysis is essentially a method of utilising
stories in an attempt to gain insights into a participant’s knowledge and understanding . It allows such
[58]
insights to then be compared and analysed, with similarities, differences, and trends identified across
participants and has been increasing utilised across the construction management literature in recent
[58]
years [59,13] .

The first research stage investigated the SDGs. It considered participant reflections on the barriers, enablers,
and SDG progress. Questions included “What do you think are the biggest barriers to achieving the SDGs?”
and “Can you think of an example where you have witnessed an initiative focused on the SDGs?”. Ten
semi-structured interviews were conducted as part of this research stage with Table 1 illustrating the
interviewee details of those who participated: