Energy data for REITs and real estate funds
Investors, standard setters and city regulators all want the same thing from a REIT: complete, asset-level energy and emissions data. Most of it sits in tenant bills the landlord never sees.
The problem
GRESB sets the tone for investor scrutiny. In 2025, 1,002 fund managers submitted 2,382 assessments, and the Performance Component scores portfolios on energy, GHG emissions, water and waste reported between April 1 and July 1 each year. Energy data coverage has now passed the 75% threshold globally for the second year running, the level the GRESB Foundation treats as sufficient to represent whole-building energy use intensity, so the benchmark is shifting from whether you have data to how the assets perform on it. Only 22% of assets reporting to GRESB are considered highly energy efficient.
Canadian disclosure is now framed by standards, not just questionnaires. CSDS 1 and CSDS 2 are effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2025, with transition relief that includes an additional year for Scope 3 GHG emissions. The CSA has paused its mandatory climate disclosure rule but points issuers to the CSSB standards as the voluntary framework to follow, and securities law already requires disclosure of material climate risk. For a REIT, Scope 3 is largely tenant energy, which lands squarely on the data problem.
Regulators add a third layer. Building performance standards and benchmarking laws now span US states and cities, and the Facilities Dive tracker covers jurisdictions with populations of 100,000 or more, with thresholds as low as 25,000 square feet in New York City and phased compliance dates running through the decade. Each asset in each city needs whole-building data on its own schedule, which means tenant meters, landlord accounts and vacant space reconciled into one number per building, every year.
Where we help
GRESB data coverage from bills and tenant data
Landlord accounts, tenant bills and submeter data become one whole-building record per asset, with coverage tracked so the sustainability team knows exactly which buildings fall short before the April to July window opens.
CSDS-aligned Scope 1, 2 and 3 activity data
Build the emissions inventory from metered energy across the portfolio, with tenant consumption separated from landlord operations and every figure traceable to a source bill.
Building performance standard tracking by city
Track each asset's obligation, deadline and gap to its limit in every jurisdiction you own in, using the same underlying data as the investor report.
Operating cost and billing accuracy at portfolio scale
Validate every bill against its tariff and catch demand, rate-class and estimated-read errors across hundreds of accounts before they flow into recoveries and NOI.
What you get
- Whole-building energy, GHG and water data for every asset
- GRESB and CSDS-aligned reporting from one auditable record
- Tenant and landlord consumption separated and reconciled
- Billing errors caught before they reach recoveries and NOI
- 1GRESB: 2025 Real Estate Assessment results
- 2GRESB: Real Estate Assessment
- 3FRAS Canada: Effective dates, Canadian Sustainability Disclosure Standards
- 4FRAS Canada: CSDS 1 and CSDS 2 now available
- 5CSA: Update on climate-related and diversity-related disclosure projects
- 6Facilities Dive: Map tracking building performance standards across the US
Frequently asked questions
How does MartinAI help with GRESB data coverage?
GRESB scores the Performance Component on reported energy, GHG, water and waste, and has flagged the 75% energy data coverage level as sufficient to represent a whole building. We assemble landlord bills, tenant bills and submeter data into one record per asset, track coverage per building and per commodity, and show which assets are short before the reporting window opens, so more of the portfolio reports actual metered data.
Can you collect tenant energy data we do not receive as the landlord?
Yes, in several ways. Tenants can upload their bills through a portal that reads any layout and commodity. Where the utility offers Green Button Connect My Data, tenants can authorize a direct data feed. Submeter and interval data can be pulled in as well. Each source is mapped to the asset and space, and vacant or unmetered areas are tracked separately so whole-building totals and coverage are explicit.
Are CSDS 1 and CSDS 2 mandatory for Canadian REITs?
CSDS 1 and CSDS 2 are effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2025, but the CSA has paused its mandatory climate disclosure rule and currently describes the CSSB standards as a voluntary framework issuers are encouraged to follow. Many REITs report against them anyway for investors and lenders. Either way, the activity data underneath is the same metered energy, so building it properly now avoids a scramble later.
We own assets in several US cities with building performance standards. Can one dataset serve all of them?
Yes. Benchmarking and performance standard laws differ by city in thresholds, deadlines and metrics, and the Facilities Dive tracker lists them by jurisdiction. The underlying input is the same: whole-building monthly consumption per commodity, in consistent units, with the asset's floor area and property type. We keep that record current and feed ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, so each city's filing draws from one source rather than a separate spreadsheet per asset.