As investors increasingly focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors when making decisions, the real estate industry is under pressure to provide more disclosure around its own ESG performance. While some companies are turning to manual processes to track and report ESG data, this can be time-consuming and error-prone.
In this article, we will cover the main benefits of ESG sustainability reporting software for real estate.
What is ESG Reporting in Real Estate?
ESG reporting is the process by which a company discloses its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance to interested stakeholders.
In the real estate industry, ESG reporting is becoming increasingly important as investors and other stakeholders seek to understand a company’s ESG practices and how they might impact its financial performance.
There are several different frameworks for ESG reporting such as GRESB, CDP, or TCFD. Companies can choose which one is most appropriate for their situation.
Real Estate ESG Reporting System: How It Can Help
Real estate companies have a lot of data to manage and report on, from financials to energy usage, waste disposal or compliance data. Software can help real estate companies manage and report on this data more effectively, making ESG reporting easier and more accurate.
ESG reporting platforms can help with:
• Collecting and measuring of data
• Setting targets
• Analyzing, visualizing and controlling ESG data
• ESG Reporting and Disclosing
ESG reporting is a valuable tool for real estate companies as they seek to improve their sustainability and social responsibility practices. By disclosing their ESG performance, companies can build trust with their stakeholders and demonstrate their commitment to sustainable business practices.
What are the benefits of using software for ESG reporting in real estate?
There are many benefits of using software for ESG reporting in real estate.
1. Manage and report ESG data more effectively
Perhaps the most obvious benefit is that it can help you to gather and track data more efficiently. In result, automate reporting process as well. With all data in one place, it is much easier to identify trends and patterns. This can help real estate companies save time and resources and ensure that their ESG reporting is accurate and up-to-date.
2. Increase accuracy and transparency
Real estate companies that switch to the software-based ESG reporting can benefit from increased accuracy and transparency, as well as improved communication with investors. Software can also help companies identify and track risks and opportunities related to ESG issues.
3. Identify areas of improvement
By tracking and reporting on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data, companies can easier identify areas where they need to improve, benchmark their performance, and make more informed investment decisions.
4. Identify environmental and social risks and opportunities
ESG data can also help to identify environmental and social risks and opportunities that may impact the value of real estate assets. It gives a great opportunity to take a holistic look at asset performance by collecting ESG data.
Which features are most important in real estate ESG reporting software?
There is a growing number of ESG software programs that are specifically designed to help with ESG reporting in the real estate industry. Some of the key features of these programs include the ability to track sustainability data, manage risk, and assess ESG performance.
Among the useful features are dashboards with widgets. With ESG reporting tools like Singu ESG reporting platform, you can see how specific buildings perform in comparison to others in a portfolio through comparative dashboards.
Analytical dashboards can also be used to quickly display information such as energy consumption, water consumption, waste disposal, or greenhouse gas emissions. Typically, such systems allow the user to download data into an Excel file, benchmark the data presented (like for like or year to year), and overlay a custom target.
Responsible persons can use such programs to create surveys according to GRESB certification questions or to create any questions that can be used to meet the requirements of frameworks like CDP, TCFD, and others.
One of the biggest advantages of some ESG reporting tools is their flexibility in terms of generating data on specific building attributes. To match different certifications and ESG reporting requirements, users can create custom building attributes in the system.
ESG management systems (such as Singu) allow the creation of special user rights and roles. By structuring data access ranges easily, you can decide who can access what data.
Bringing Data Together from Multiple Sources In One Place: How to Standardize Data?
Preparing ESG reports is a big task for a cross-departmental team, which must collect data from many sources (sites, buildings, departments, areas of the company, etc.). It involves coordinating and contacting many individuals from various departments. With ESG reporting software, their work can be simplified and facilitated as much as possible
ESG data collection should be centralized in ESG reporting software. It means that a variety of building information (such as waste management disposal, meter data collection, or tenant survey data collection) should be gathered in one place, ideally using the same tool.
Final Thoughts
Reporting on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors is becoming increasingly important for real estate investors and operators. However, gathering and reporting ESG data can be challenging, especially when it comes to property-level data.
If you are looking for a ESG reporting software for the real estate industry – contact us today to book a free demo of Singu ESG reporting system.
