Optimising Commercial Properties for the Green Transition
Net zero targets, new regulations, and investor demands are all requiring more when it comes to energy efficiency, and it is becoming increasingly important to take a proactive approach to enhance asset value, attract tenants, and improve long-term returns.
Making buildings more sustainable can feel like a complex puzzle. How do you reduce your carbon footprint while protecting, or even improving, asset performance? The key is turning data into clear, actionable steps. Advanced tools, like IBM Envizi drive data-driven insights into building optimisation and energy management.
With even small Scope 1 and Scope 2 inefficiencies leading to substantial carbon outputs and high running costs, it is important to align with frameworks like the UK’s Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) policy. Getting your data in order prepares you for future ESG disclosure rules, which can directly impact asset valuations and operational costs.
Staying ahead of the curve and utilising marketing tools to communicate this to potential tenants can also provide you with the upper hand to stand out against the competition. Tenants are now actively seeking sustainable buildings that promise lower energy bills and a smaller environmental impact.
Optimise Your Portfolio for the Green Transition
So, how do we start optimising for the green transition to help shape a more sustainable and profitable commercial property portfolio?
- Audit: Effective management starts with accurate measurement. Envizi facilitates this by gathering and analysing energy consumption data from across all your sites. This centralised view allows you to identify patterns of excessive use, pinpoint opportunities for efficiency improvements, and monitor your performance against industry benchmarks and sustainability goals. It moves you from guesswork to a clear, data-informed strategy.
- Optimise: Managing a building efficiently goes beyond making adjustments based on intuition. Using platforms such as IBM Envizi which provides access to up-to-date building data, property professionals can identify unnecessary energy use and adjust systems to match demand while still maintaining comfort for everyone inside. This hands-on approach can keep energy costs in check, minimise emissions, and ultimately deliver a better experience for tenants.
- Energy Management: IBM Envizi offers a single platform to monitor energy consumption and emissions for all assets. This makes it possible to compare the performance of different buildings, identify and share best practices, and produce audit-ready reports for regulatory compliance and investor updates. With strong analytics, building managers can make confident decisions, prioritise high-impact projects, and measure the effectiveness of their sustainability initiatives.
- Monitor and assess: IBM Envizi’s dashboards and analytics support continuous improvement by highlighting areas where energy efficiency measures are underperforming, tracking the outcomes of upgrades or behavioural initiatives, and ensuring buildings remain compliant with evolving ESG and regulatory standards.
- Report to benchmarks: IBM Envizi’s Building Ratings + Benchmarks module features dedicated API connectors and algorithms, so you can report directly into the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) and ENERGY STAR frameworks and get indicative ratings from the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS).
By putting these strategies into practice, commercial property organisations can realise significant benefits. These include lower operational emissions, which contributes to net zero objectives, and reduced energy costs, which boosts portfolio profitability. Furthermore, sustainable and efficient buildings attract quality tenants and investors, leading to enhanced asset valuations. Finally, having audit-ready reporting and precise tracking of energy performance provides confidence in meeting regulatory duties.
The green transition is fundamentally reshaping the UK’s commercial property sector. Property owners and managers who embrace proactive energy optimisation and leverage advanced tools like IBM Envizi are doing more than just meeting their obligations, they are building more resilient and valuable portfolios. To find out more about how Envizi can equip you with the data needed for informed portfolio decisions, contact Aramar today.