Digital twins as a catalyst for sustainable construction transport policies? A critical review

The construction industry plays a critical role in shaping urban freight systems while contributing to environmental impacts through material transport and on-site activities. These activities exacerbate congestion, noise and air pollution, particularly due to inefficient planning and limited coordination of material flows. As Europe advances toward climate-neutral urban freight targets, the sector faces a major challenge: absence of integrated systems planning to support sustainable transport policies. Despite isolated examples of logistics control such as cross-site material consolidation, there remains a lack of scalable and data-driven approaches to manage construction logistics sustainably. This study critically reviews how digital twins (DT) can act as catalysts for zero-emission construction logistics planning. Drawing on an analysis of literature, EU policies and expert interviews, it identifies key gaps in current practices. The results translate into DT requirements for measurable, coordinated and policy-relevant construction transport planning capable of supporting life cycle emissions accounting based on logistics and on-site activity. By synthesizing knowledge across construction, logistics, digitalization and sustainability domains, this study proposes a strategic framework showing how DTs act as a catalyst for sustainable construction transport and informing policy innovation.