The effort to measure and prioritize ESG factors in commercial real estate has grown dramatically in recent years, for many reasons. Global acceptance of climate change and the tangible concerns it poses has boosted investment in green buildings and sustainable energy infrastructure.   

For commercial real estate, environmental issues may have the greatest and most immediately quantifiable impact on portfolio risks and opportunities, therefore accurate data is essential.   

In a Q&A with Connect Money, Andrea LeMay, Director of Go-To-Market at Measurabl, an ESG data management platform for real estate, addressed the frameworks used for ESG reporting, the company’s data methodologies, and challenges organizations face regarding ESG compliance, among other topics. 

CM: How does your ESG data management platform for real estate work and who are your clients? 

AL: Measurabl is the most widely adopted platform for ESG in real estate. We serve 1,000 clients in 93 countries around the world who own or operate 18 billion square feet of real estate worth more than $3 trillion. 

The comprehensive Measurabl platform serves real estate owners, operators, and capital markets. We help our customers consolidate and manage fragmented ESG data; comply with local, national, and global regulations; optimize their assets; and decarbonize their portfolios. Our software enables customers to gain the insights they need to reduce costs, improve net operating income (NOI), and make better-informed investment decisions.  

The Measurabl platform leads customers on a journey toward sustainable real estate – quantified. 

CM: What framework is commonly used in real estate for ESG reporting? 

AL: In the U.S., we are witnessing significant evolution as new regulations continue to be implemented at both state and city levels. For example, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently adopted climate-related disclosures for publicly traded companies. Although the mandates are on hold due to court challenges, it is a sign of a growing trend across the U.S. for federal, state, and local mandates.  

On a state level, California has adopted SB 253 and SB 261, known as the Climate Data Accountability Act (CCDAA) and the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act (CRFRA), which will be enacted into law in January 2026. These bills mandate businesses operating in California disclose their scopes 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risks. These bills aim to enhance corporate transparency in climate responsibility and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting. 

At the city level, Local Law 97 in New York City and the Clean Energy DC Building Code Amendment Act in Washington are new.   

In contrast, Europe shows greater maturity and adoption of frameworks such as the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).  

The demand for transparent ESG data reporting has swelled to the point that expectations for verification and assurance of the data are nearing those of financial reporting. This can be challenging for global portfolio owners.  

CM: How does Measurabl support the many venues in which a company reports ESG? 

AL: The proliferation of mandatory and voluntary reporting frameworks mentioned above is a real challenge for real estate owners, operators, and capital market participants. 

Our goal is to make reporting and disclosure as easy as possible for our clients. We offer pre-built templates and push-button reporting for frameworks like GRESB, SFDR, Local Law 97, EU Taxonomy, CSRD, etc. 

But reporting is just the beginning. Many organizations are suffering from ESG information overload. Our solution provides advanced reporting through powerful business intelligence tools that allow customers to interrogate their data and develop custom reports – making it easy to present, share, and turn information into actionable insights.  

CM: What are your data methodologies and where do you get your data? 

AL: ESG efforts start with and depend heavily on high-quality data. 

Today, data collection and quality assurance are challenges for the real estate sector, especially when it comes to building utility consumption, which historically has required largely manual and fragmented collection processes. 

Our solution is the best on the market for utility data acquisition. We maintain connections with over 1,000 global utility providers and can seamlessly collect data from any building hardware, certifications, and meter gateways through automation.  

But not every utility offers automated data ingestion, so we have solutions for bulk uploads, and comprehensive full-service assistance. Our latest platform features 20% fewer data outliers compared to the industry standard, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLM) to enhance data quality.  

With access to unlimited historical data and the ability to automate future data collection, we provide a 360-degree view of the sustainability of real estate portfolios, delving into building-level actions to optimize performance. 

Although utility consumption data is a large portion of the lift, we go well beyond utility data. Our platform aggregates asset-level and listed data, collects data on bills, emissions, ratings, physical climate risk, audits, and projects.  

The data repository serves operators, owners, investment managers, lenders, and index providers through our global platform. With the platform covering 18 billion square feet and over $3 trillion in asset value, Measurabl can aggregate this data and develop trustworthy and reliable benchmarking models.  

With over a decade of experience dedicated to solving data management challenges in the real estate sector, our expertise ensures that our clients receive the most accurate and actionable insights available. Our data platform provides the full sustainability story across the building journey.  

CM: Amid the growing prominence of environmental regulations, what hurdles, if any, of real estate ESG compliance have you encountered from organizations? 

AL: One of the main challenges organizations face regarding ESG compliance is data collection and ensuring the data’s auditability, accuracy, timeliness, and granularity. With an increasing number of frameworks emerging, keeping track of their diverse requirements, timelines, and necessary data can be overwhelming. 

At Measurabl, we support our customers throughout the year by gathering data directly from meters and bills. This ensures the data is as timely and accurate as possible, making compliance faster, easier, and more reliable. 

Our approach allows customers to use their centralized data for multiple frameworks through pre-built templates, automation, and exports. We have a team of sustainability experts who can assist with and advise on compliance best practices. 

Additionally, determining the ROI of ESG initiatives is challenging for many organizations. To address this, we prioritize robust data management to ensure the data we collect provides value beyond regulatory disclosure.  

Our approach includes benchmarking, delivering deep building-level insights, and enabling scenario planning. This comprehensive data utilization facilitates decarbonization and cost reduction, ultimately securing a clear and tangible ROI. 

CM: Measurabl has had two rounds of fundraising over the past three years totaling $143 million. How have the funds been deployed and what does the pipeline look like moving forward? 

AL: You can expect big things ahead and we are incredibly excited. We have invested significantly in understanding our customers’ emerging needs to help us modernize our technical infrastructure and product solutions.  

This summer is going to be a momentous one for Measurabl. We are launching a next-generation platform that will mark a significant paradigm shift in real estate technology and data management, driving forward the agenda for sustainability. These new solutions assist our customers throughout their sustainability journey, removing the stress and confusion from sustainability reporting, action planning, and monitoring.  

Moving forward, our team’s focus is on continuing to centralize, benchmark, and collect robust global sustainability data that will benefit a wide spectrum use cases and customers across the real estate ecosystem. 

Andrea LeMay oversees Measurabl’s global Go-To-Market Strategy. With more than 15 years of experience, she has driven strategic initiatives and led customer-facing teams in implementing hardware and software technologies across sectors including retail, public safety, and real estate. She has international startup experience, having lived and worked in Berlin, is an alumna of Harvard Business School, and is a veteran of the U.S. Army.