www.buildingsandcities.org/about/zuhaib-batra.html
Dr Zuhaib Batra
Dr Zuhaib Batra is a Senior Scientist & Global Policy Lead at EPFL, and Scientific Collaborator at the Smart Living Lab at the University of Engineering and Architecture of Fribourg, Switzerland. His research supports policy-making and industry through developing decision-making tools and evidence-base focused on energy efficiency, IEQ, LCA, sufficiency and decarbonization.
Zuhaib’s expertise is in net-zero & healthy buildings, building physics, building stock data and policy instruments, having led several European and international projects. He is a member of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Annex 89.
Latest Commentaries
Anticipating Chronic Climate Risks
How can local authorities better anticipate and reduce chronic climate risks in the built environment? With 20 years' experience working in local authorities tackling climate change, Joe Baker considers the challenges facing local authorities to identify and manage climate risks, and asks: How do we get the leadership, skills, capacity and meaningful action needed?
Remote Sensing for Urban Development Policies
At the 2026 Sustainable Buildings and Construction Summit Magnus Andersson, David Muthui & Reza Roodaki (Malmö University) argued that remote sensing should be a core evidence infrastructure for sustainable urban governance. Satellite derived and geospatial analysis can observe and monitor urban expansion, densification, land consumption, building form and material demand across jurisdictions and over time. A shift from two-dimensional to three-dimensional sensing and analysis provides new data to inform policies for housing, land-use efficiency, disaster exposure, public space, resource efficiency and resilient construction.