The March 7, 2023, White Paper, authored by John Turner, Beth Eckenrode, Todd Lukesh, Don McLean, Anil Sawhney, and Craig Stevenson for the Digital Twin Consortium, sheds light on a critical issue: the significant energy consumption and depletion of natural resources attributed to the built environment. Despite well-documented evidence by Science-Based Target Initiatives and global climate scientists, the extensive network of stakeholders involved in the building lifecycle—ranging from financiers, risk auditors, developers, owners, operators, builders, city planners, technicians, trade partners, to suppliers—has yet to collectively acknowledge and actively reduce their combined negative environmental impact. The paper aims to guide building owners and their associated stakeholders in tackling this challenge through the implementation of performance-based digital twins. It delineates how the application of these digital twins can play a pivotal role in addressing the environmental concerns associated with the built environment.

Keywords: Climate Change, Data Networking, Energy Efficiency/Management, Intelligent Building, Internet of Things (IoT), Property Management, Software Development, System Integrator, Digital Twin