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Despite the operational challenges, and competing demands, it does appear the construction industry is
embracing sustainability, and these strategic initiatives are starting to filter down to site based operatives.
However, at present research is focused on the strategic delivery levels due to site based personnel being
harder to reach and having a primary focus on traditional construction tasks. Nevertheless, initiatives
aligned with SDG achievement are filtering through to construction projects, and the industry is arguably
becoming more sustainable each day.

The interlinkage between carbon footprint and SDGs
Analysis of the results revealed that there are clear links between carbon footprint perceptions and the
SDGs. For example, participant K highlighted the connectivity of innovation, sustainability, and data driven
environments. Participant H expanded upon this by unpacking sustainability and the SDGs into their
disparate areas of focus:

“Carbon offsetting was an early focus of ours. The SDGs sort of absorbed this…all under one heading”.

This was also discussed by participant V who explained the links they specifically experienced between DTs
and carbon:

“We have embraced Digital Twinning of all our assets. All are at different stages with different clients…it
has helped us significantly reduce our carbon…through comprehensive scenario modelling”

Such findings contribute to those in the literature that link carbon footprint reduction to innovative
technology use . However, the findings also build upon studies that focus on highlighting the barriers to
[28]
[27]
technology that prevent carbon footprint reduction by revealing how innovative technology usage, in the
form of DTs, can aid in the reduction of carbon footprints from building stock. This interlinkage, supported
with Government focused policy will help drive the awareness and achievement of the concepts. For
example, if reporting on DT and SDGs was mandated, it would enforce engagement across industries and
allow for direct benchmarking and comparison of performance levels. It would also further illustrate and
evidence the connection that exists between carbon footprint reduction and increased DT usage.

Collaboration and establishing a link between DTs and the SDGs
This research also established a clear link between DT’s and the SDGs. This became apparent in the third
research stage, with all five Participants confirming their respective organisations had invested in DT
technology for a range of reasons, including sustainability, as highlighted by Participant W:

“The seamless integration of data interoperability across diverse systems enables sustainability to be
achieved in complex data driven environments”.

The example provided by Participant W was a DT of a real city and its population so the human behaviour
impact could be modelled for a switch from cars to e-scooters.

Participant U offered another practical example of clear links between DTs and SDGs, and how the
development of DTs is compelling behaviour change amongst often disparate stakeholder groups:

“We are currently developing DTs of our factory ecosystems…so the factories themselves can be replicated
and installed all over the world, and all monitored in real time to ensure optimum performance and
maximum sustainability, all from our UK head office…we can proactively replace parts and have them