Engineering for a more resilient world: five leaders, one question, many answers

“From our perspective as an engineering design firm, the most impactful innovation over the next five years will be the integration of AI-enabled building information modelling (BIM) and digital twin technologies within smart urban infrastructure design.

AI enhances BIM through generative design and automated energy modeling at early stages, while digital twin platforms extend this capability into the operational phase by enabling predictive performance analysis, resilience modeling, and continuous energy optimisation.

This integrated approach allows us to reduce embodied and operational carbon, improve lifecycle efficiency, and support Smart City development — directly advancing the UN SDGs, particularly sustainable cities, clean energy, and climate action.”

“AI can accelerate SDG delivery at an unprecedented scale. For example, AI-enabled energy optimisation can reduce building energy use by up to 19%. However, this progress carries a material footprint. In the US alone, data centres already consume around 4% of the country’s total electricity consumption, and it’s predicted to rise by 133% by 2030. 

Without low-carbon generated electricity and cooling plants, AI’s computing and cooling demands could significantly increase emissions. This balancing act is both the greatest opportunity and challenge facing engineering today.”

“As part of the energy transition, our planning of large-scale heat pumps enables us to make a significant contribution to the goals of ‘affordable and clean energy’ (7), ‘sustainable cities and communities’ (11), as well as ‘climate action’ (13).

Furthermore, using innovative materials in building construction – such as carbon-reduced cement or timber-concrete composites – we achieve a reduction in the carbon footprint when creating sustainable civil infrastructure in line with the goals of ‘industry, innovation, and infrastructure’ (9) and ‘climate action’ (13).”

Dr. Ahmed Singer, CEO ECG Engineering Consulting Group, highlights how artificial intelligence is reshaping the future of sustainable engineering. 

“As one of the region’s pioneers embedding AI at the heart of engineering design, ECG delivers smarter and more efficient solutions that reduce resource use, strengthen climate resilience and create lasting impact for communities, while advancing the UN SDGs.”

“AI is going to change the way we operate. In our sector, one of the best ways to use it is to combine sensor technology with AI to make smart, automated decisions based on real-time data. 

This change from reactive operations to smart predictive systems will change how SCADA and other infrastructure are controlled, allowing them to reduce water loss, energy use, and downtime, thereby making services more reliable.”