Smart buildings reshape Asia-Pacific net-zero push

Digital tools and tighter rules drive building decarbonisation.

Cities across Asia-Pacific are redesigning urban masterplans to meet climate, resilience and inclusivity goals, placing the built environment at the center of the region’s net-zero transition. With buildings responsible for an estimated 25–40% of regional carbon emissions, decarbonising real estate has become one of Asia-Pacific’s most urgent climate challenges and one of its largest investment opportunities.

“You can think of digital technologies like the brains behind sustainable buildings,” said Karan Sinsinwar, Sustainability Lead, AECOM Singapore. “They make buildings smarter and more efficient by cutting waste during the whole design process.” He said digital design, automation and analytics help optimise, reduce waste and improve operational efficiency.

Advanced tools are reshaping both construction and operations. “These twins let engineers test changes to optimise energy use without touching the actual building,” Karan said, referring to digital twins. He added that AI can predict failures, automate systems and align equipment use with renewable energy availability. “By embedding all these digital capabilities… we are transforming the design and delivery workflows and in some cases, cutting material waste by up to 20% and reducing engineering time by as much as 90%.”

Corporate occupiers are rapidly adopting these technologies to meet regulatory and climate commitments. “The digital solutions that allow for energy tracking, for emissions measurement, for identifying retrofitting potential, they form the core of meeting compliance and carbon targets for the corporations,” said Kamya Miglani, Head of Work Dynamics Research, Asia Pacific, JLL. According to JLL research, “92% of corporations in APAC are already currently piloting AI solutions within their CRE function,” with energy management amongst the leading use cases.

Investors are also shifting focus from green labels to real performance. “We have also found that 60% of investors are actively monitoring energy efficiency metrics,” Miglani said, adding that many plan to invest in smart building upgrades over the next five years. “The market is moving beyond certifications, performance, data and real time.”

“Six in 10 corporates highlight that they lack a clear vision of their digitisation pathway,” Miglani said, alongside cybersecurity concerns and skills shortages. While 44% of investors rank climate-related obsolescence as their top portfolio risk, only one in four have implemented adaptation measures.

Older buildings remain the hardest to decarbonise. “Many older buildings weren't designed for energy efficiency back in the day,” Karan said, pointing to high upfront costs, imported low-carbon materials and weak consumer demand as ongoing hurdles.

Miglani said regulatory shifts across Asia-Pacific are turning asset-level energy and emissions data into the new compliance benchmark, reinforcing the role of smart buildings in the region’s net-zero push.