State-of-the-art review of urban building energy modelling on supporting sustainable development goals

Urban Building Energy Modelling (UBEM) is a powerful computational tool capable of trackable large-scale building energy performance assessment, enabling more effective management and optimisation of urban energy systems. While UBEM has preliminarily been engineering-oriented, this study examines its potential contributions to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through a systematic literature review, this work reveals that the UBEM predominantly supports the SDGs directly associated with energy and environment, namely SDGs 7, 11, 12, and 13, while contributions to other goals, such as SDGs 1, 4, 8, 9, 15, and 17, remain underexplored. Although UBEM offers transformative potential in supporting the SDGs, its impact is currently limited by geographic imbalances, methodological inconsistencies, and insufficient integration of socio-economic indicators. To address these limitations, an expanded research agenda is proposed, which integrates life-cycle assessments to capture holistic environmental impacts, collaborative open-source frameworks to improve data accessibility, and participatory approaches to ensure inclusivity in decision-making processes. By addressing these gaps, the study aims to enhance the applicability and adaptability of UBEM, allowing it to tackle a wider array of issues within SDGs. Additionally, this work underscores UBEM's potential as a transformative tool for advancing sustainable urban energy strategies, bridging technical innovation with interdisciplinary methodologies to foster equitable and resilient urban development in alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.