Lavikka Rita, Fauth Judith, Toscano Mayte, Costa Gonçal, Beach Thomas, Meda Magalhães Pedro, Stoter Jantien, Kaiser Stefanie Brigitte Deac, Werbrouck Jeroen
Built Environment and Mobility, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, Espoo, Uusimaa, 1000, Finland.
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue 7, CB3 0RB, UK.
Open Res Eur. 2025 Aug 4;5:90. doi: 10.12688/openreseurope.18553.2. eCollection 2025.
The architecture, engineering, construction, and operation sectors face significant sustainability challenges. These include high greenhouse gas emissions, resource depletion, worker safety concerns, and difficulties balancing cost efficiency with sustainable practices. Digital solutions, such as Digital Building Permits (DBP) and Digital Building Logbooks (DBL), are increasingly promoted as enablers of sustainable construction and building management. However, there is limited research on how they contribute to sustainability in practice. This study applied the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as an analytical framework to assess the sustainability impacts of DBP and DBL. A four-phase methodology was used: (1) expert elicitation to identify relevant SDGs, (2) mapping of DBP and DBL practices to SDG targets, (3) documentation of supporting practices, and (4) validation through a hybrid stakeholder workshop involving 38 participants from across Europe. The study identifies DBP and DBL practices that contribute to ten SDGs, including Good Health and Well-Being, Affordable and Clean Energy, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry and Innovation, Sustainable Cities, and Climate Action. The automatic code-compliance checking of DBP speeds up approval times, reduces errors, increases transparency, and supports carbon reduction, operational efficiency, and equitable access to permitting. It streamlines housing approvals, aiding affordable housing development. DBL facilitates energy-related data management, including the issuing of Energy Performance Certificates and comparing theoretical versus actual energy use. DBL also supports recyclability assessments and design for disassembly, aligning with the principles of the circular economy. This study provides a structured and replicable framework for evaluating the sustainability contributions of digital building permitting and logbooks. It demonstrates how DBP and DBL can be aligned with global sustainability targets, offering a foundation for future empirical research and policy development. Further work is needed to quantify long-term impacts and extend the analysis beyond the European context.
建筑、工程、施工和运营部门面临着重大的可持续发展挑战。这些挑战包括温室气体排放量高、资源枯竭、工人安全问题，以及在成本效益与可持续做法之间取得平衡的困难。数字解决方案，如数字建筑许可证（DBP）和数字建筑日志（DBL），越来越多地被推广为可持续建筑和建筑管理的推动者。然而，关于它们在实践中如何促进可持续发展的研究有限。本研究应用联合国可持续发展目标（SDGs）作为分析框架，以评估DBP和DBL对可持续发展的影响。采用了四阶段方法：（1）通过专家咨询确定相关的可持续发展目标；（2）将DBP和DBL实践映射到可持续发展目标指标；（3）记录支持性实践；（4）通过一个有来自欧洲各地38名参与者的混合利益相关者研讨会进行验证。该研究确定了有助于实现十个可持续发展目标的DBP和DBL实践，包括良好健康与福祉、负担得起的清洁能源、体面工作和经济增长、产业与创新、可持续城市以及气候行动。DBP的自动代码合规检查加快了审批时间，减少了错误提高了透明度，并支持碳减排、运营效率以及公平的许可获取。它简化了住房审批，有助于经济适用房的开发。DBL促进了与能源相关的数据管理，包括能源绩效证书的发放以及理论能源使用与实际能源使用的比较。DBL还支持可回收性评估和拆解设计，符合循环经济原则。本研究为评估数字建筑许可和日志对可持续发展的贡献提供了一个结构化且可复制的框架。它展示了DBP和DBL如何与全球可持续发展目标保持一致，为未来的实证研究和政策制定奠定了基础。需要进一步开展工作来量化长期影响，并将分析范围扩展到欧洲以外的地区。
