Real estate decarbonization: Data collection in the property industry

Yet, ask any sustainability leader about their biggest obstacle, and the answer is nearly unanimous: Access to timely and accurate data.

Data is the backbone of a successful net-zero strategy—it sets baselines, drives decisions, and builds trust. But for many, access to reliable data is riddled with complexity. This article unpacks the insights from industry leaders, showcasing the strategies that sustainability teams can use to overcome these challenges.

Why data drives everything

Let’s be clear: without good data, a net-zero strategy for such a high emitting is a shot in the dark. Data enables you to:

• Earn trust: Transparent, verifiable data reassures stakeholders, from tenants to investors.
• Set a baseline: Understand where you and your connected stakeholders stand today to shape where you go tomorrow.
• Align with science: Build credible, actionable, science-based targets.
• Prove impact: Measure the results of energy efficiency projects and interventions.

What’s holding teams back?

Despite its importance, gathering climate data can be a minefield. These are some pitfalls you should be aware of:

1. Access limitations: Commercial properties often have tenants who control their own energy data. Without their consent, landlords are left guessing, as most commercial real estate is tenanted, and tenants own the rights to that data, creating a clear silo. This dynamic is a major roadblock to obtaining actionable data, leaving much of the reporting—and consequently, decision-making—reliant on assumptions.
2. Messy formats: Data often arrives in a chaotic mix of post-it notes, spreadsheets, and emails, and is likely to be handled by a single engineer or data specialist, with little to no oversight. Consolidating it into something useful is at best, a painstaking process, and at worst prone to multiple manual errors.
3. Manual processes: Even with the rise of smart meters, manual input persists, opening the door to errors and inefficiencies.
4. Regulatory inconsistencies: In France, regulations mandate tenant-landlord data sharing, which fosters collaboration. These same regulations do not exist in the UK however, meaning that businesses collaborating across countries may not be held to the same standards.

Insights from Segro and Landsec

Despite the obstacles, leaders like Landsec and Segro are paving the way with innovative solutions, as they shared with us in a recent webinar:

• Focus on tenants, not just tech: Collaboration is the key to success, something that Landsec saw firsthand when some tenants have cut electricity use by up to 40% once they were brought on as conscious stakeholders. The strategy is clear—tenant engagement isn’t optional; it’s transformational.
• Automate and scale: Segro has invested heavily in automated meters, making energy data easier to track and analyze. These give real-time visibility into energy use, which helps to identify and address inefficiencies, and by scaling these technologies across their portfolio, Segro is turning insights into action.
• Learn from others: Where the UK may lack regulation that enables cross-transference of data, it does not mean that you cannot look to how other stakeholders collaborate to effectively manage and communicate data. You can even go one step further by leaning on your partners for resources and skills to plug any gaps in your data-collection capabilities.
• Prioritize intelligently: Imagine you have over 300 tenants in a single shopping center, where do you start? Landsec prioritized their largest emitters and aggregated data portfolio-wide. By focusing on the top 20 emitters allowed us to cover 69% of tenant emissions with actual data. It’s a pragmatic approach that delivers big wins.

How to close the gap

So, where do sustainability teams go from here? A few essentials:

1. Centralize your data systems: If data is fragmented, so is your strategy. Investing in centralized platforms streamlines collection, ensures consistency, and eliminates silos.
2. Push for tenant partnerships: Data-sharing agreements, green lease clauses, and workshops are just a start. Building a culture of collaboration is key.
3. Leverage tech—but don’t forget the human touch: Automation simplifies processes, but human expertise ensures the insights are actionable. Technology plus team effort is the winning formula, particularly when used by the right team members who are able to strategically manage the software in order to derive key insights. This can be done with support initially, but you should try and build internal confidence in order to make this a repeatable part of your current business processes.

Conclusion

At Position Green, we’ve built solutions to address these challenges head-on. Whether through advisory services or cutting-edge platforms, we help you transform climate data into a strategic advantage. The CSRD, science-based targets, and net-zero ambitions all demand one thing: clarity. And clarity starts with good data.

The path to net-zero is challenging, but not impossible. By addressing data hurdles, you’ll set your strategy apart and accelerate your impact. And there’s no better place to manage all your data than within our Sustainability Suite.

Book a demo with Position Green today and let’s make your net-zero ambitions a reality.