A framework for digital building logbooks: Drivers of affordable, circular and sustainable built environment

Peer-reviewed paper 7-116-26

Digital building logbooks (DBLs) can improve information management, reduce transaction costs, facilitate effective decision-making, and increase transparency throughout the building lifecycle and across the building value chain. They do this by enabling the integration of various information tools (e.g. energy performance certificates and material passports) with data demands from policy makers, financial actors, businesses and markets. Although the concept of ‘building logbook’ has existed for the past three decades, DBLs are formally defined in EU legislation in the 2024 Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). Despite efforts by market participants and the Commission to advance the use of DBLs, they have not been widely adopted and their potential remains unfulfilled. The primary barriers to progress include the difficulty of demonstrating clear, tangible value to stakeholders, the ongoing fragmentation of data across incompatible systems, and the need for more coherent regulatory requirements. This study examines the EU policy landscape, identifying opportunities for policy coherence and data alignment. It maps specific impact pathways through which DBLs achieve regulatory goals and presents a social cost-benefit analysis of large-scale implementation. The SCBA results provide a compelling business case, with a cost-to-benefit ratio ranging from 2 to 9, depending on the number of DBL functionalities. Even in a low DBL uptake scenario, the net present value is at least €11 billion. The findings reveal that current policy enablers, technical readiness, and market maturity provide a timely opportunity to transit from disparate DBL systems to a comprehensive, legally anchored EU framework. To support this transition, we propose a multi-layered framework for DBL development that is simple to understand and implement. Implementing a common EU framework would foster innovation and cost savings, accelerating the shift toward a sustainable and digital built environment.