Who is responsible for the carbon emissions of commercial buildings? Physical correlation of energy consumption and social interactions among stakeholders

Purpose Amid climate justice, pressure for equitable global carbon responsibility has cascaded from aggregate national targets down to the micro-level of individual buildings. Commercial buildings, with high operational carbon intensity and complex stakeholder interactions, face significant and escalating decarbonization pressure, making them a priority area in the built environment. This research aims to advance commercial buildings' operational carbon responsibility framework by analyzing critical stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach This research employs socio-technical systems theory to develop a novel two-mode “energy consumption network and social network” model. First, an energy-consumption network of physical equipment is modeled to identify key carbon-emitting devices. Second, a stakeholder network is constructed to identify entities responsible for those emissions. Finally, these networks are integrated, and a core-periphery analysis is conducted to reveal the critical linkages between social stakeholders and technical systems. Findings The results indicate that property management companies and building owners should bear primary responsibility, while governments play a crucial supervisory and enforcement role. The heating, ventilation and air conditioning, lighting and power systems are core energy-consuming equipment, with terminal systems, public area lighting and elevator systems serving as critical equipment nodes. Property managers' daily equipment control is the decisive intervention pathway. Research limitations/implications Although this research has fulfilled its core objective of identifying stakeholders responsible for specific carbon emissions during the operational stage of commercial buildings, subsequent work is needed to make substantive progress in quantifying the carbon responsibilities of different stakeholders. Originality/value Addressing the socio-technical integration gap in commercial buildings, this research provides actionable pathways to achieving net-zero goals in the built environment.