34th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 34) - Singapore, Singapore - 2026

https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0186

Balancing decarbonisation and climate resilience through lean and digital twins

Adnan Muzaffar1 & V. Paul C. Charlesraj2

1Student, Department of Design and Architecture, School of Arts and Humanities, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, United Kingdom, [email protected], orcid.org/0009-0004-3649-9090
2Senior Lecturer in Construction Project Management, Department of Design and Architecture, School of Arts and Humanities, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, United Kingdom, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-9868-3350

Abstract

The construction sector is a major contributor to global carbon emissions and is also highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Balancing decarbonisation with climate resilience has emerged as an important industrial goal. However, both these objectives are usually addressed independently in current practices and research, with limited attention to integrated strategies. The synergy between Lean methodology and Digital Twin technology has been explored in this study that can help balance decarbonisation and climate resilience in construction projects. A qualitative research design was adopted, including a systematic literature review and semi-structured interviews with five industry experts. The findings suggested that Lean and Digital Twins can complement to balance decarbonisation and climate resilience, but their adoption is influenced by organisational and cultural hurdles, stakeholder influence, and strategic integration for long-term benefit. They also indicated that climate resilience is frequently considered as a secondary objective, underlining the importance of a framework that combines Lean and Digital Twins to successfully balance decarbonisation and climate resilience. The findings of this study facilitated the establishment of a proposed framework that presented Lean and Digital Twins as equal promoters for balancing decarbonisation and climate resilience, rather than focusing solely on efficiency improvements.

Keywords

Climate resilience, decarbonisation, digital twins, lean construction, sustainability.

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Reference in APA 7th edition format:

Muzaffar, A. & Charlesraj, V. P. C.. (2026). Balancing decarbonisation and climate resilience through lean and digital twins. In Hamzeh, F., Poshdar, M., & Garcia-Lopez,, N. P. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 34) (pp. 85–96). https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0186

Shortened reference for use in IGLC papers:

Muzaffar, A. & Charlesraj, V. P. C.. (2026). Balancing decarbonisation and climate resilience through lean and digital twins. IGLC34. https://doi.org/10.24928/2026/0186

 

Founded in 1993, the IGLC is an international network of researchers from practice and academia in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) who feel that the practice, education, and research of the AEC industry have to be radically renewed in order to respond to the global challenges ahead.

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