The launch of the Digital Buildings Council (DBC) in May 2024 marked a significant moment for an industry grappling with fragmentation and uncertainty. For me, it represented the culmination of a clear strategic vision: bringing together diverse voices to forge a more collaborative and interconnected future for digital buildings. This landmark initiative was a direct consequence of the deep and meaningful conversations I’d been facilitating for some time, most notably a pivotal round table workshop I conceived and co-facilitated in February 2024 (see more on this here).
That foundational workshop, which many of the DBC’s founding members attended, served as a powerful catalyst. It was there, through practitioner consensus and challenging predictions, that the urgent need for a unified approach became undeniably clear. My role has always been to unpack complexity, identify patterns, and connect the right people to drive collective progress. The insights gleaned from that session, combined with those from other industry panel events I had curated, directly informed the DBC’s foundational mission and its commitment to tackling the market’s most pressing issu
The digital buildings market, despite its immense potential, has been constrained by a persistent lack of clarity and a multitude of conflicting voices. The discussions I steered highlighted several critical challenges that the DBC was subsequently formed to address:
- Market Confusion: A cacophony of conflicting voices, vested interests, and inconsistent language.
- Promise vs. Reality: The significant gap between technological claims and achievable outcomes.
- Shifting Focus: The imperative to move from merely discussing the ‘Why’ and ‘What’ to the practical ‘How’ of digital building implementation.
- Holistic ROI: The need to demonstrate and calculate return on investment in a truly comprehensive manner.
- Practical Guidance: Developing clear direction on sustainability performance, governance, and user experience facilitated by technology.
- Early Engagement: Integrating cost and project management consultants from the outset to mitigate value engineering and align digital outcomes with costs.
The DBC was designed to address these challenges through agile working groups, effectively filling gaps in existing frameworks and enhancing best practices for the common good. My appointment as Chief Advocacy Officer and interim Chair underscored the central role of market engagement in this new venture. It was about providing unbiased support, kick-starting initial aims like fostering professional understanding through knowledge sharing, and developing a common language to engage crucial stakeholders across the built environment.
This initiative is a prime example of my “Market Engagement” philosophy in action: leveraging strategic content creation, activating extensive networks, and facilitating thought leadership to build powerful ecosystems. It demonstrates my commitment to transforming expert insights into tangible industry impact, driving collective progress that transcends traditional silos.
For more details on the Digital Buildings Council’s official launch and purpose, you can refer to the articles published in Smart Buildings Magazine.
