From ambition to execution: How integrated data, AI, and automation can move construction, engineering, and facilities management closer to net zero 

Introducing IFS Zero – an Agentic Emissions Operating System that takes organizations from operational data to audit-ready disclosure 

For years, Net Zero has been one of the central conversations in the construction industry, and while the ambition to meet targets is high, what is unclear is how we’ll get there.  

When speaking to the industry directly, it is clear what the issue is, and it’s not lack of data but fragmented data: Carbon data sits in spreadsheets and supplier information lives in another system. Project controls, procurement, and asset performance rarely speak to each other. As with many industries and operators within them, silos affect efficiency and sustainability reporting becomes one of its biggest victims.  

That is the issue this article addresses. The day-to-day operational capability needed to measure, manage, and evidence progress on net zero, and turn it into commercial value. 

I recently presented on the topic of driving sustainability initiatives within the construction industry at the UK’s Digital Construction Week. Our presence at this event centered on a clear mission: helping construction and engineering organizations accelerate their journey to smarter, more sustainable project delivery. That’s exactly why sponsoring the Net Zero Stage mattered so much to us. Across the two days, our team showcased how IFS Cloud and our new IFS Zero solution brings every part of a project and asset lifecycle into one connected platform, improving predictability, reducing rework, and enabling better‑informed decisions at every step.  

The Net Zero Stage gave us the opportunity to explain why decarbonization, resilience, and responsible project delivery and asset and facility management should not be sidebar conversations; they are central to the future of construction, and central to the technology solutions that we build at IFS. 

That end-to-end visibility is exactly what made the Net Zero Stage such an important platform for us. It gave us the opportunity to explain the “why”. 

Why net zero matters to construction and engineering  

Pressure on the industry is building from several directions at once. Consider these figures: 

• The built environment is responsible for roughly 25% of the UK’s direct emissions. Include transport linked to the built environment and that figure rises to about 42%.  

• Worldwide, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations’ leading global authority on the environment, recently estimated that the global buildings and construction sector is responsible for approximately 37% of global CO₂ emissions. This includes both: 

• Operational emissions from heating, cooling, lighting, and powering buildings, and 

• Embodied carbon emissions from producing construction materials such as cement, steel, aluminum, glass, and from construction activities themselves. 

Further regulatory pressures are driving decarbonization efforts: 

• Regulation and standards are tightening. 

• Planning authorities expect stronger evidence at submission. 

• Public procurement is raising the bar through measures such as PPN 06/21. 

• Clients increasingly want credible carbon performance, not promises. 

For a construction firm, proving the drive to net zero affects eligibility to bid, win rates, reputation, risk, and long-term competitiveness. Companies that cannot evidence their carbon performance will find themselves locked out of work. 

Mastering the basics of data  

The underlying issue is structural. Most construction businesses still operate on disjointed, silo-based processes,Each stage holds part of the carbon story. From bid to contract, design and estimate, plan and schedule, procure and manufacture, construct and install, through to operate and maintain. None holds the whole story. 

Three patterns appear repeatedly: 

1. Fragmented data across teams, systems, and spreadsheets. 

2. Disconnected supply chain and project controls that make whole-life carbon analysis difficult. 

3. Weak evidence that struggles to stand up to client, regulator, or tender scrutiny. 

That is why a reporting tool on its own is not enough. Reports are an output. Net zero performance is the result of how the business runs. 

IFS Cloud simplifies data management and operations 

It is not a specialist carbon modelling tool. It is the operational backbone that helps a construction company plan, measure, control, and report carbon-related activity across the full project and asset lifecycle. It connects the business processes that drive carbon outcomes rather than producing reports after the fact. That distinction matters. Compliance becomes a by-product of running the business well, not a parallel workstream. 

IFS Zero transforms operational activity into verified Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions reporting 

Sustainability teams in construction, engineering, and facilities management still spend too much time reconciling emissions data. Manual collection takes up 60–70% of the reporting cycle; and by the time sustainability teams get a number, it is often stale, disconnected from the operations or assets it describes, and hard to fully assure. 

IFS Zero addresses this gap. As an agentic emissions operating system embedded in operational systems, it connects to the assets, facilities, supply chains, and business processes that generate emissions to capture, validate, and report Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions with full traceability. 

With IFS Zero, your team focuses on decisions, not data wrangling. Instead of waiting until quarter-end to identify performance gaps, organizations gain real-time visibility into emissions across their operations. The result is faster, more accurate reporting, greater confidence in sustainability data, and the ability to take corrective action before targets are missed.  

IFS Cloud & IFS Zero Helps Construction Firms Meet Net Zero Goals in Seven Ways 

1. Carbon Data & Reporting 

Move beyond spreadsheets with centralized emissions data from projects, assets, procurement, field service, and finance. IFS Cloud supports audit-ready reporting, dashboards, and progress tracking against sustainability targets. 

2. Embodied & Whole-Life Carbon Management 

Gain visibility into materials, suppliers, sourcing decisions, waste, logistics, and plant usage to better assess and reduce whole-life carbon impacts. 

3. Smarter Project Controls 

Reduce emissions while improving margins through better planning, scheduling, resource coordination, cost control, and reduced waste, rework, and idle equipment. 

4. Asset & Service Optimization 

Improve equipment performance, reduce energy consumption, extend asset life, and optimize field service operations through predictive and preventive maintenance. 

5. Sustainable Procurement & Supplier Governance 

Strengthen supplier oversight, identify high-carbon materials and sourcing practices, and support low-carbon procurement strategies with greater transparency. 

6. Stronger Compliance & Tender Evidence 

Support Carbon Reduction Plans, PPN 06/21 requirements, and net zero commitments with reliable operational data, progress tracking, and auditable evidence. 

7. Automatic Emissions Reporting 

IFS Zero’s AI agents automatically collect, validate, and map data, closing the intelligence loop. By connecting directly to data already within IFS Cloud, it eliminates the need for third-party data extraction, manual reconciliation, and time-consuming spreadsheet processes. 

The business value beyond compliance 

The most compelling net zero story is one that links sustainability goals to operational and commercial value. A firm that runs its projects, assets, and supply chain well will also produce better carbon outcomes,  and better evidence to back them up. Better data and stronger process control deliver outcomes that any commercial director, COO, or VP of Operations recognizes: 

• Greater project predictability. 

• Less waste and rework. 

• Stronger margin control. 

• Higher bid win rates. 

• Better decision-making across the lifecycle. 

Today’s construction and engineering firms need the operational capability to measure, manage, and evidence progress across projects, assets, procurement, and service. That is what moves the industry from ambition to execution. And that is where IFS solutions are designed to help. 

To learn more about the new IFS Zero solution, download the fact sheet.