How digital twins connect finance and sustainability

The Center for Digital Built Britain (CDBB), a digital twin research project in the UK, recently completed a five-year charter that aims to bridge the dots between building designs and connected digital twin ecosystems. In the years that followed, the research effort helped fuel conversations about how improved data sharing could improve construction processes and promote a shared understanding between stakeholders.

As a parting gift, the group has compiled several reports focusing on how digital twins can be used to achieve business, social and environmental goals. The Gemini Papers examine best practices for aligning the technology’s physical infrastructure, digital replicas, and touch on social considerations. A separate whitepaper with a similar focus examines “How Finance and Digital Twins Can Shape a Better Future for the Planet”.

“We need a built environment, created and operated in a way that allows people and the planet to thrive together for generations to come,” said Alexandra Bolton, executive director of the CDBB. “We believe that with better data, you can make better decisions and achieve better results.”

Data integration is key

Integrating and sharing data has been one of the biggest challenges CDDB has identified over the years of research and collaboration.

“We’ve been collecting data for years, but it’s not being fully utilized because of the silos,” said Mark Coates, international director of public policy and advocacy at Bentley Systems and co-author of the study.

Open data does not mean that data is shared voluntarily, rather that all parties find ways to share data that respect all security and privacy considerations. Another important consideration is that the data is translated across contexts using standard ontologies and frameworks to characterize what data means. This is important for bridging the dots between the data workflows of engineers and designers working to create new buildings, as well as the owners and technicians who focus on construction operations, and the governments and bankers who fund them.

The group claims that there is tremendous potential for investors to influence how data is used to improve infrastructure decision-making. Senior financiers explore how digital twins can improve capital allocation processes, help identify and manage risk, and enhance asset values. A promising example is the Cross River Rail in Brisbane, Australia, where a publicly funded mega-project provided the catalyst for a city-level digital twin that supports better investment decisions.

There are a number of different types of investors, such as B. Private equity firms, commercial banks and institutional investors, each employing different strategies to generate returns. Additionally, everyone must consider how digital twins are constructed to represent different types of assets, ranging from low-yield and low-risk core assets such as power, rail and water to more opportunistic investments such as data centers, air transport or seaport expansion.

It’s important to work with build teams, investors, and users to connect digital twins to specific investor strategies. For example, debt-oriented companies like banks are using digital twins to manage risk and secure better interest rates. Public companies use digital twins to increase the value of assets, while governments use digital twins to improve data sharing for the greater good.

Although CDDB has just completed its mission, many of its activities, including the Digital Twin Hub, live on to encourage broader collaboration between design, finance and engineering teams.

“We need to develop the digital twin narrative and evidence for the wider community around risk management, ESG reporting and better returns on investment,” said Peter El Hajj, Head of the National Digital Twins Program at the Center for Digital Built Britain.