The Digital Edge: The Role of Digital Platforms in Enhancing Energy Efficiency

The global energy landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by the imperative to mitigate climate change and enhance sustainable development, making energy efficiency a critical goal across all economic sectors. This chapter explores the role of digital platforms in advancing energy efficiency, with a specific focus on their applications in buildings, transport, and interconnected supply chains. Leveraging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), building information modeling (BIM), and digital twins, these platforms offer powerful tools for monitoring, analyzing, and optimizing energy consumption and performance. The chapter defines these digital platforms and details their specific contributions to energy efficiency within each sector: enabling smarter design, construction, and operation in buildings; optimizing routing, traffic flow, and vehicle performance in transport; and enhancing visibility, logistics, and decision-making in supply chains. Furthermore, the discussion emphasizes the critical importance of robust governance frameworks—encompassing regulations, policies, and standards—to guide the development and deployment of these technologies, ensuring interoperability, addressing security and privacy concerns, and incentivizing adoption. While digital platforms present transformative potential for a more energy-efficient and sustainable future, the chapter also acknowledges challenges such as initial investment costs, the need for skilled personnel, cybersecurity risks, and system integration complexities. The conclusion underscores that the strategic implementation of digital platforms, supported by coherent governance, is instrumental in accelerating the transition toward a low-carbon economy.