Data is rewriting the sustainability playbook

1. The commercial real estate industry is increasingly demanding measurable, auditable sustainability outcomes. How are participants defining science-based targets, and how is that reshaping expectations for performance data?
   
   Science-based targets are increasingly expected to be rigorous, not merely aspirational. Investors, owners, and developers are defining performance metrics against global benchmarks for carbon reduction, energy efficiency, and climate resilience, aligned with corporate commitments and climate goals. This represents a shift from intention to demonstrable performance: it is no longer sufficient to label a building “green” or “sustainable” solely based on predictive models. Stakeholders now demand data-driven evidence that sustainability objectives will be achieved, and that they directly support asset value and long-term risk mitigation.
   
   Science-based targets require robust methodologies that measure the right things and do so in units of measure that can make that information understandable for the industry in which they are applied. BREEAM New Construction Version 7 (BREEAM NC V7) integrates operational and whole-life carbon into its certification process, using industry-standard metrics to capture both predicted energy performance and embodied carbon from construction materials and technical systems. This approach gives investors confidence that design intent and actual construction is robust and capable of delivering over decades. BREEAM In-Use will be updating to Version 7 in 2026 to deliver the same for operational assets, enabling portfolio-level reporting that aligns with global disclosure standards and informing risk assessment for assets across the performance spectrum.
    
2. How is the quality and granularity of sustainability data changing the conversation between owners, managers and investors?
   
   Just a few years ago, ESG reporting often relied on high-level scores or broad statements. Today, stakeholders demand detailed metrics, from operational energy use intensity (EUI) to carbon use intensity (CUI) and asset-level physical risk assessment.
   
   This granularity transforms the conversation across the asset lifecycle. Investors can rigorously assess whether projected performance aligns with risk tolerance, while developers and managers can optimize designs and operations to enhance value and manage risks. Detailed data also enables benchmarking across portfolios, fostering competition and accelerating adoption of best practices throughout the market while opening access to lower costs of capital.
    
3. Policy is moving faster than ever, particularly in the US and Europe. Which regulations or disclosure standards do you see as most consequential for global investors trying to align portfolios with credible climate benchmarks?
   
   Climate and sustainability policy is advancing rapidly, though the pace and scope differ between the U.S. and Europe. In the U.S., federal disclosure remains in flux. The SEC adopted a 2024 rule requiring companies to report on climate-related risks and Scope 1, 2, and material Scope 3 emissions; in 2025, the commission stopped defending the rule in court, leaving its enforceability uncertain. State and local initiatives, however, continue to set high standards. California’s SB 253 and SB 261 — the latter of which has been halted pending the outcome of a January 2026 appeal — require large companies to report emissions and climate-related financial risks with third-party assurance, and New York City’s Local Law 97 mandates emissions reductions for large buildings, reinforcing that sustainability risk is business risk and it is manageable, actionable, and material today.
   
   In Europe, frameworks are moving toward standardized reporting for clarity and comparability. The EU Taxonomy defines thresholds for environmentally sustainable economic activities, while the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) requires asset managers to disclose how ESG factors integrate into investment products. Together, these frameworks aimed to provide investors with consistent, high-quality data to benchmark portfolios against credible climate objectives. However, as in the U.S., these policies have recently been reviewed and refined but not removed.
   
   For global investors, granular, standardized reporting enhances risk assessment and decision-making across acquisition, development, and operations. Certifications like BREEAM NC V7 complement these trends by recognizing projects that push beyond code-minimum performance, positioning assets for long-term compliance, efficiency, and durable, risk-adjusted returns. By combining regulatory, disclosure, and certification frameworks, investors can be confident that portfolio sustainability performance is measurable, comparable, and aligned with evolving global climate benchmarks.
    
4. Private capital is flowing into retrofit and resilience strategies. Where do you see the most momentum, or friction, in translating sustainability commitments into real investments?
   
   The greatest momentum is in “brown-to-green” investments — upgrading existing, high-carbon buildings rather than acquiring assets that are already sustainable. With most of the global building stock that will exist in 2050 already standing, these strategies offer the largest opportunity to decarbonize, improve resilience, and capture financial value. While investing in already-green buildings can be lower risk, it often delivers limited additional impact. By contrast, brown-to-green investments can generate substantial reductions in energy use and emissions, creating meaningful environmental, financial, and social returns.
   
   Real-world impact is most evident in energy efficiency retrofits and high-performance HVAC and envelope upgrades that can reduce operating costs and attract tenants. Resilience measures that reduce downtime or insurance exposure are also particularly high-impact opportunities, as these are areas where performance improvements clearly translate into financial outcomes.
   
   Friction arises around uncertainty in projected ROI, durability of performance gains, and inconsistent data for underwriting assumptions. Investors seek confidence that retrofit strategies will deliver measurable savings and effectively de-risk assets over time.
   
   Certifications like BREEAM help translate sustainability commitments into investable action by providing standardized, third-party-verified metrics for reductions in operational risk, energy use, and long-term costs. This transparency and rigorous validation gives investors confidence that performance data is credible, enabling capital allocation to initiatives that might otherwise feel speculative and accelerating the shift from aspiration to credible, quantifiable performance across existing buildings and infrastructure.
    
5. Whole-life carbon assessment has become a key differentiator in underwriting and valuation. How far along are US investors and lenders in integrating these assessments into their core decision-making?
   
   Whole-life carbon assessment is rapidly becoming a critical differentiator in underwriting and valuation. By providing a full lifecycle view of a building’s carbon footprint, including embodied carbon, these assessments help optimize design and material choices, extend the service life of components, and encourage the reuse of existing structures. The result is not only a reduction in carbon impacts, but also a decrease in operational costs and future retrofit expenses, and improved resilience against fluctuating carbon pricing and regulatory requirements. U.S. investors and lenders are beginning to integrate these insights into core decision-making, though adoption varies, with leading institutions and coastal markets moving fastest.
   
   BREEAM NC V7 strongly encourages projects to pursue a comprehensive view of carbon across the building lifecycle, from material selection to MEP systems and operations. This insight allows investors to understand full carbon liability and its alignment with regulatory trajectories, tenant expectations, and long-term returns. As disclosure standards evolve, whole-life carbon performance will transition from a differentiator to a baseline requirement for accessing capital from institutional investors and maintaining competitive portfolios, regardless of whether a carbon target has been declared.
    
6. How can data-driven certifications and assessments reshape underwriting, financing and asset management decisions today?
   
   High quality and rigorous certifications like BREEAM provide a trusted framework to link sustainability performance with financial outcomes. Lenders can more accurately price risk and offer favorable terms, asset managers can prioritize interventions that maximize efficiency and value, and investors gain confidence that sustainability performance contributes to measurable returns.
   
   Buildings with BREEAM certification have demonstrated rental premiums of up to 12% in select markets alongside tangible operational cost reductions. By grounding performance in rigorous, data-driven assessment, certification transforms sustainability from a marketing claim into a measurable business advantage.
   
   At the portfolio level, aggregated certification data enables benchmarking, identification of high-impact interventions, and strategic capital allocation across assets. It also supports consistent reporting and disclosure, allowing investors to manage systemic risks, optimize operational efficiency, and strengthen portfolio resilience in a rapidly changing market.
    
7. Public–private partnerships are emerging as a driver of climate progress. How can municipal and federal policy better support investor-led sustainability upgrades, especially for ageing building stock?
   
   Municipal and federal policy can accelerate investor-led sustainability upgrades, particularly for aging buildings. Incentives for retrofits, streamlined permitting, and clear technical guidance help direct private capital where it can have the greatest impact. Public–private partnerships are especially effective, allowing investors to deploy capital efficiently while municipalities gain resilient, low-carbon assets. Resilience is a community sport — no matter how well prepared, an asset is not an island. It’s also about the resiliency of the block, the neighborhood, and the community overall.
   
   Early collaboration is critical: designing resilience and energy efficiency into buildings from the outset is far more cost-effective than retrofitting later. This reduces insurance exposure, operational disruption, and long-term costs — benefits that are quantifiable and material at both the asset and portfolio levels. This is also good for municipalities: low carbon, resilient assets directly support fiscal stability, community wellbeing, and long-term economic competitiveness. Aligning policy frameworks with investor priorities unlocks scalable solutions that enhance sustainability, financial performance, and resilience, benefiting entire communities both directly and indirectly.
    
8. What new forms of analytics or data points are most persuasive to investors linking sustainability and ESG needs to asset value and risk-adjusted portfolio returns?
   
   Investors are increasingly focused on analytics that provide predictive insight rather than descriptive reporting. Metrics such as Predicted Energy Use Intensity and Predicted Carbon Intensity allow investors to compare design intent to future measured performance, while post-construction embodied carbon data provides insight into the actual, rather than intended, performance of an asset. Additional predictive metrics, such as operational water use, further support forward-looking decision-making. At the same time, assessments of climate resilience, including risk and sensitivity analyses, help investors understand how assets may perform under stress and in the face of climate-related risks.
   
   BREEAM’s methodology amplifies this value by standardizing these metrics across assets and portfolios. Investors can model forward-looking scenarios, identify high-leverage interventions, and optimize strategies at scale. By combining predictive analytics with verified sustainability data, investors can convert performance commitments into proactive portfolio management tools, turning sustainability from a compliance exercise into a driver of competitive advantage.
    
9. Technology and data transparency are evolving rapidly. How might advances in digital reporting, AI or remote sensing change how real estate assets are evaluated for sustainability over the next five years?
   
   Advances in digital reporting, AI, and remote sensing have the potential to transform sustainability evaluation over the next five years, but only if data collection is set up correctly and interpreted with context. Reliable, near-real-time monitoring of energy use, emissions, water, and climate resilience requires properly calibrated sensors and high-quality training data, such as post-construction measured performance., allowing investors and managers to detect inefficiencies, anticipate risks, and optimize interventions before they impact returns.
   
   Understanding what good performance looks like for each asset type — and where trade-offs may exist — allows investors and managers to detect inefficiencies and anticipate risks accurately. Coupled with proper controls and processes to correct deviations, these technologies can turn sustainability into a key unlocking portfolio strategy, risk management, and capital allocation improvements. Combined with frameworks like BREEAM, these tools enable proactive, data-driven decision-making at scale and create a dynamic, data-driven view of performance that moves beyond one-off assessments toward measurable, performance-driven outcomes.
    
10. Looking ahead over the next decade, what will define a truly resilient, high-performance asset — and in what ways do you expect investor definitions of ‘sustainability’ to evolve as the climate and capital markets continue to shift?
    
    Looking ahead, a truly resilient, high-performance asset will combine low whole-life carbon, high operational efficiency, and climate-adaptive design, while delivering high-quality internal environments that support occupant health and wellness. Moreover, performance will be measured through rigorous, science-driven metrics.
    
    Over the next decade, investors are likely to define sustainability less as a set of certifications or statements, and more as verified, measurable performance. Certifications will serve as proof points of actual outcomes — predictable energy and cost savings, reduced exposure to climate and regulatory risks, and enhanced long-term marketability — rather than as goals in themselves.
    
    Frameworks like BREEAM will provide the essential structure to quantify these outcomes, enabling investors to benchmark performance across assets and portfolios and to make strategic capital allocation decisions with confidence. As such, leadership in the next decade will belong to those assets that marry environmental and financial performance, creating resilient buildings that deliver measurable value not only to investors but also to tenants, communities, and the broader market. And the clearest winners will likely be those that maximize the ”brown-to-green” transition, stepping beyond overall emissions reductions to transform low value assets into returns. In this way, sustainability will evolve from a compliance consideration into a core driver of portfolio strategy, shaping which assets thrive as climate realities and capital market expectations continue to shift.
     

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