Energy efficiency experts from Exergio have suggested that AI can help push demand for green infrastructure.
Global demand for sustainable real estate has been falling for several years now, and a recently published report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) shows that many projects are stalling over high upfront costs and uncertain payback.
The RICS 2025 Sustainability Report reveals that global demand for sustainable buildings fell to 30 per cent from 41 per cent.
Investors and developers mostly place the blame on unclear returns, with up to 46 per cent citing uncertain ROI, payback periods or operational savings as their main barriers to investing.
Donatas Karčiauskas, CEO of Exergio, said investors aren’t against building sustainably; they are just unsure if their investment will bring returns.
“If a project requires expensive materials, equipment and certifications but the real-world performance doesn’t translate into measurable savings, why would anyone scale it?
Until buildings can demonstrate clear, verifiable returns, demand will keep sliding,” said Karčiauskas.
The use of AI can optimise existing systems and help developers build more sustainably.
Another way that AI can be used is in measuring embodied carbon in construction.
The RICS report shows that roughly half of respondents don’t measure embodied carbon at all, and only about 16 per cent say their assessments change design choices.
Just 17 per cent believe the industry has enough sustainability knowledge, and only 10 per cent are very familiar with whole-life carbon methods.
Karčiauskas believes this is where AI can accelerate progress.
AI systems can gather performance data automatically, interpret it without specialised training, and adjust building systems continuously – something human teams cannot do at scale.
“AI closes the gap that the industry can’t close on its own.
“It proves ROI with real performance data, aligns what occupiers want with what investors pay for, and automates optimisation that today requires scarce expertise.
“If we want sustainability targets to become real outcomes, this is the only lever big enough to work at scale,” according to Karčiauskas.
