Position Green claims that the consensus decision of sustainability leaders points to a crucial obstacle: the requirement for precise and timely data to support these efforts.

The foundation of every effective net-zero approach is data. It ensures stakeholder confidence, informs choices, and sets baselines. Robust data helps the real estate industry gain the trust of stakeholders, including investors and renters, by enabling organizations to assess the success of energy efficiency initiatives, establish realistic, science-based goals, and show tangible benefit.

However, there are several obstacles in the way of obtaining valuable climatic data. Access limitations are a major obstacle since tenants in business buildings frequently manage their own energy use information. Landlords are compelled to use estimations if they don't cooperate. The data aggregation process is made more difficult and prone to mistakes and inefficiencies by the range of data formats—from notes to intricate spreadsheets—managed by a small number of experts.

Furthermore, data openness is not always supported by the regulatory environment. There are anomalies for firms operating internationally since the UK lacks comparable rules to those in nations like France that promote tenant-landlord data exchange for energy consumption.

During a recent webinar, industry experts Segro and Landsec offered their insights, which highlight ways to overcome these obstacles. Tenant participation has been shown to have transformational potential by Landsec, which has shown significant energy use reductions when tenants are actively participating. In a similar vein, Segro is using technology to improve energy data management. Real-time data insights are provided by their investment in automated metering systems, which are crucial for locating and fixing inefficiencies.

The businesses stress the importance of tenant participation in energy management and support a cooperative approach with renters. In addition to implementing new technology, the emphasis is on developing collaborations that allow for shared accountability for energy use.

Sustainability teams are urged to concentrate their data gathering activities in order to close the data gap. This entails spending money on unified platforms that guarantee data consistency and lessen the possibility of information silos. Furthermore, promoting data-sharing contracts and including green leasing provisions can foster collaboration. The human component is still essential even if technology greatly simplifies the data management process. The knowledge of qualified experts guarantees that the data not only provides information but also generates insights that can be put into practice.