International real estate advisor Savills has won the ‘Best Project or Collaboration’ category at the Society of Digital Engineering (SDE) Awards 2025 for its innovative digital workflow, Carbon Pioneer. The category recognises partnerships or projects setting new standards in digital innovation across the built environment. The awards took place on Wednesday 19th November at NLA – The London Centre in London.
Carbon Pioneer was developed to address a key industry challenge: the need for fast, reliable and data rich insights to support net zero aligned investment decisions. Traditional energy and carbon modelling methods can be slow, fragmented and resource intensive, often taking weeks to complete, meaning sustainability analysis is frequently missed during the crucial early stages of due diligence, strategic planning and design.
Carbon Pioneer transforms this process by integrating multiple assessments into a single, automated workflow. Using parametric energy modelling and automated data handling, it provides holistic insights into energy performance and carbon trajectories in minutes. The tool brings together compliance risk reviews, energy benchmarking, decarbonisation pathways and cost analysis, ensuring consistency, eliminating duplication and significantly accelerating delivery.
Eve Farrugia, Associate, Savills Earth, says, “More than 1,600 development hours have been invested in Carbon Pioneer, with continuous refinement informed by client feedback and evolving industry standards. The result is a future ready solution designed to drive both efficiency and sustainability at scale. We are delighted that Carbon Pioneer is being recognised for the contribution it makes to clients and the built environment, representing a major step forward in how we advise clients and encourage them to make informed, sustainable decisions.”
David Jackson, Head of Savills Earth, adds, “Congratulations to our industry leading Sustainable Design team on this fantastic achievement. This is the third award Savills Earth has won in the space of a week, a testament to the outstanding work our teams are doing to support clients in navigating the ESG agenda. This recognition highlights how our digital tools, artificial intelligence capabilities and innovative approach are leading the way across the industry.”