BIM-Enabled Life-Cycle Energy Management in Commercial Complexes: A Case Study of Zhongjian Plaza Under the Dual-Carbon Strategy

Commercial complexes, as major sources of urban energy consumption and carbon emissions, face urgent demands for efficiency improvement under the “dual-carbon” strategy. This paper develops a Building Information Modeling (BIM)-enabled life-cycle energy management framework to address fragmented monitoring, weak coordination, and data silos inherent in traditional approaches. Methodologically, a structured literature review was conducted to identify inefficiencies and draw lessons from global practices. An enhanced Delphi method was then applied to refine 12 key evaluation indicators spanning six dimensions—policy, economic, social, technological, environmental, and compliance—which were subsequently integrated into a BIM platform. This integration enables real-time energy monitoring, multi-system diagnostics, and cross-phase collaboration across the design, construction, and operation stages. An empirical case study of the Zhongjian Plaza project in Shanghai demonstrates that the proposed framework not only enhances energy efficiency and reduces life-cycle costs, but also improves user comfort while aligning with both domestic green building standards and international sustainability targets. Overall, the study provides a replicable methodology and practical reference for the smart and low-carbon operation of large-scale commercial complexes, thereby offering strategic insights for advancing sustainable urban development.