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Watts et al. Carbon Footprints 2025, 4, 27 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/cf.2025.20 Page 13 of 16

knowledge around the role procurement and policy guidance has on the use of DTs in the construction
industry to help support the SDGs. The aim of this research is to ascertain which policy environments help
and hinder DT adoption, and therefore in turn which serve to help or hinder SDG achievement. Through in
depth interviews with twenty-five professionals that span the SDGs, DTs and the construction industry, the
role of procurement and policy was explored. Analysis of the results revealed the construction is more
sustainable than perhaps given credit for in existing literature. Collaboration is still not occurring at a wide
enough scale. This lack of collaboration is hindering achievement of the SDGs. However, through the
introduction of specific procurement requirements, and mandated policy around DT usage, positive change
can be driven through the industry with regards to DT adoption. This will force collaboration and in turn
help achieve the SDGs.

All participants were consistent in their views that Government backed policy is needed, yet all were
reluctant to invest resources in DT or SDG initiatives without policy or procurement requirements in place.
This research concluded that whilst policy would support the further development of DTs, and aid in the
achievement of the SDGs, the lack of it is hindering development. This research recommends that formal
Government policy is introduced mandating the need for DT adoption and inclusion of clear procurement
criteria pertaining to DT usage. This can take the form of mandatory reporting, enforced procurement
requirements, and tax based incentives for use. Adopting a variety of such methods can lead to greater
collaboration across industry stakeholders, and increased use of DT which will in turn lead to greater SDG
achievement and a global reduction in carbon footprints.

DECLARATIONS
Authors’ contributions
Formal analysis, investigation, writing - original draft preparation and review and editing process: Watts,
G.; Munir, M.; Underwood, J.; Hales, D.; Sadabad, M. M.; Balogun, T.; Coates, P.; Lim, L.

Availability of data and materials
All published studies are available from the referenced sources. Anonymised transcripts and summarises of
the data collection are available from the corresponding author.

Financial support and sponsorship
The project was not directly funded by any sources, but an earlier project this stemmed from was funded by
TechUK.

Conflicts of interest
All authors declared that there are no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval and consent to participate
All ethical approvals were gained from the University of Salford (Panal Review Decision 1154). Prior to any
interviews being undertaken. Informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Consent for publication
Not applicable.

Copyright
© The Author(s) 2025.