Carbon Footprint Dashboard
Get an estimation of the total energy consumption and GHG emissions for combinations of funds.
Introduction
What is the Carbon Footprint Dashboard (CFD)?
The Carbon Footprint Dashboard is an interactive tool that empowers real estate investors to explore and better understand the energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of their GRESB Real Estate portfolios. It provides a comprehensive overview of a portfolio’s financed emissions, enabling investors to uncover insights to inform decisions – benefiting investments and the planet.
User Instructions
Users & Access Rights
GRESB Real Estate Investor Members (listed and/or non-listed) can access the Carbon Footprint Dashboard through the Portal.
Generate the dashboard
There are two ways to select entities:
Users can manually select by searching for specific entities using their names directly or using filters for locations, property types, legal status, and investment strategy (available only for non-listed funds). To select the entities, please check the box next to them and fill out the entity ownership % (the value should be between 0 and 100)
Alternatively, users can import entities by first exporting the list of entities to which you have access in CSV format and filling out the percentage of ownership for the entities you wish to include. Delete the entities that you wish to exclude from the calculation, save the file, and then upload it to the Portal. The content will be reflected on the Dashboard once the file has been successfully uploaded
You can view the selected entities next to the “Choose Entities” tab. If you’d like to clear your selection, you can do so by clicking the “Remove All” button.
Next, click “Generate Dashboard.”
Navigate the dashboard
The corresponding buttons will allow users to navigate between portfolio and entity views for both the Energy and GHG tabs.
When looking at the portfolio view, users can visualize metrics by country and property sector.
Users can also use the filters to adjust and interact with the data
Additionally, in the GHG tab, users have the option to choose between market-based and location-based emissions
The data can be downloaded in Excel format according to the category (Energy or GHG) and view (portfolio or entity view)
Users are also able to convert the charts and tables to PDF
Carbon Footprint Calculation Methodology
The Carbon Footprint Calculation methodology uses the most representative data available, whether reported or statistically derived, to calculate whole-building GHG emissions, and by extension, complete real estate portfolio GHG emissions, regardless of how much energy or GHG data is available as input.
It is aligned with global standards such as the GHG Protocol’s Accounting and Reporting Standard for Corporates and the PCAF Global Standard.
Calculation Summary
Estimate missing energy consumption
Summary
The first step to calculating GHG emissions for GRESB Members is to fill in the gaps in energy consumption data at the Whole Building level. There are two dimensions along which data can be incomplete: area (Data Coverage) and time (Data Availability).
If only a portion, or none, of the energy consumption data is reported along either dimension, the remainder must be estimated.
It is essential to track and disclose how much energy data, and subsequently calculated GHG data, is estimated. Otherwise, there is no indication of the data quality of the final metric, which reduces confidence in the final output and reduces the incentive to continue measuring and gathering high-quality data in the future.
Estimate Consumption from Incomplete Data Availability
GRESB linearly extrapolates energy consumption to account for one calendar year.
We assume that energy consumption for a particular floor area stays constant throughout the year, so the estimated daily energy consumption is the same as the average reported daily energy consumption. Seasonal variation will be addressed in future development.
Edge Cases
Trivial Case 1: Full Data Availability on energy consumption from data input
No data availability estimation is necessary. Proceed directly to coverage estimation.
Trivial Case 2: Zero Data Availability on energy consumption from data input.
The entire energy consumption of the building is estimated using the reported floor area and the median energy intensity for the property subtype and country (see Appendix. Methodology Data: Median Energy Intensity).
Estimate Consumption from Incomplete Data Coverage
GRESB estimates the remaining (uncovered) energy consumption of a given floor area using the remaining floor area and a mix of (a) the energy intensity of the reported data for that floor area type and (b) the median intensity for that property subtype and country (see Appendix III. Methodology Data: Median Energy Intensity).
The weight of either intensity (a) or (b) in the construction of the estimated intensity is determined by the Data Coverage for the given floor area. If the coverage is high, it can be reasonably assumed that the remaining floor area has an energy intensity closer to that of the covered floor area. If the coverage is low, there is more uncertainty that the remaining floor area follows the same pattern as the covered floor area, so the median intensity for the same Property Type and Country is given more weight. We assume that the energy consumption characteristics of a property are more comparable with other assets from the same Property Sub-Type and Country, regardless of the energy types those properties use. Thus, gaps in energy consumption data are estimated using combined energy consumption, as opposed to per energy type. Edge Cases • Trivial Case 1: Full Data Coverage on energy consumption for a building from data input No energy estimation necessary. • Trivial Case 2: Zero Data Coverage on energy consumption from data input The entire energy consumption of the building is estimated using the reported floor area and the median energy intensity for the property subtype and country (see Appendix III. Data: Median Energy Intensity).
Calculation Step Summary
GRESB calculates a portfolio's carbon footprint by:
Extracting the energy consumption data reported by entities submitted in the Performance component of the GRESB Real Estate Assessment
Completing the energy consumption data using GRESB's Estimation Model (click below to learn more)
Converting of the energy consumption into GHG emissions
Aggregating of the GHG emissions (in line with PCAF attribution methodology)
Advantages of the Methodology
The GRESB Methodology:
Works for all assets globally.
Works for all Property Sub-Types.
Takes advantage of the most granular level of GRESB reporting with GHG emissions built up from floor area data at the floor area type level.
Leverage GRESB’s database of real estate assets to estimate missing data with the most representative sample possible.
Handles real estate assets for which no energy consumption data is provided.
Usability & Coverage
Is the Carbon Footprint Dashboard available for infrastructure investors?
Currently, the Carbon Footprint Dashboard is only available for GRESB Investor Members with a real estate subscription (listed/non-listed).
Which entities can users include in the analysis?
GRESB Real Estate Investor Members (listed/non-listed) can generate a Carbon Footprint Dashboard for all entities that:
Have granted the investor access to their Benchmark Report
Have submitted the Performance Component of GRESB Real Estate Assessment
Data can be displayed in compliance with the terms & conditions
Does it cover listed and non-listed entities?
Yes, the Carbon Footprint Dashboard covers both listed and non-listed real estate entities. The type of entities available in the Dashboard is contingent on the subscription of your investor membership.
Can I create multiple analyses?
For the current version of Carbon Footprint Dashboard, GRESB Real Estate Investor Members can only generate one dashboard at a time. Previous versions of analysis generated will not be stored. Investors can export the data in Excel format or a PDF version of the charts, once they have generated the desired analysis.
Why might the entity name differ between the input page and the dashboard?
The difference happens because the entity may have changed its name after the Carbon Footprint Dashboard was last updated. The input page shows the updated name, while the Dashboard still displays the name that was current at the time of the last update.
Methodology
Why does GRESB use calculated GHG data instead of reported GHG data?
Using calculated GHG data enables GRESB to fill any data gaps and ensure 100% coverage, leveraging the GRESB Estimation Model. Using GHG data reported by participants in GRESB Real Estate Assessment would create inconsistencies with the rest of the GHG data, which is derived from the energy data of the asset in a standardized way.
Using calculated GHG data provides benefits, including:
Boosting the consistency of GHG data through the use of a robust set of emission factors
Enhancing the consistency in the delineation of Scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions
Increasing the comparability of GHG data across investor portfolios
How does the dashboard calculate the investor's share of energy consumption and GHG emissions?
Investors using the Carbon Footprint Dashboard will be required to input their Entity Ownership % of each entity they would like to include in their portfolio for analysis. The Carbon Footprint Dashboard will consider the Entity Ownership %, along with the percentage the entity owns in each asset (taken from the GRESB Asset Portal) in the calculation of the investor’s share of energy consumption and GHG emissions.
This is in alignment with the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials’ (PCAF) attribution methodology. The GHG metrics on display are thus representative of the investor’s “financed emissions.”
What is covered under Scope 3 emissions in the CFD?
Scope 3 emissions in the GRESB Assessment are calculated as those associated with tenant areas, unless they are already reported as Scope 1 or Scope 2 emissions (if they cannot be disassociated from emissions from other areas).
For the purposes of the GRESB Assessment, as well as for the calculation of financed emissions from real estate operations of investment portfolios, Scope 3 emissions refer only to emissions relating to the energy consumption of the building.
They do not include emissions generated through other tenant-related emissions such as those by its employees, transmission and distribution losses, manufacturing loads (assuming they can be separated from building energy consumption), or upstream supply chain emissions.
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