The challenge

Despite increasing pressure to decarbonise, many building owners still lack access to the data and tools needed to understand and improve performance. Historically, sustainability software has been costly and resource-intensive, limiting adoption to large organisations with dedicated teams and creating a two-tier market in which smaller owners and operators cannot measure and manage performance.

Yet meaningful progress towards net-zero requires participation from the broader market. Commercial real estate accounts for nearly 40% of global energy-related carbon emissions, but much of the market remains underserved by advanced sustainability technology.

The solution

Inspired by the success of ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, the Free Solution carries forward ENERGY STAR’s founding principle that trusted sustainability benchmarking should be accessible to all. Its development has been guided by Mike Zatz, the programme’s former director, who now leads Measurabl’s data ecosystem and partnerships. Measurabl is a six-time ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year.

Unlike traditional platforms that restrict access through licensing fees, the Free Solution provides foundational capabilities at no cost: benchmarking; Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions calculation; carbon, water and waste tracking; data quality management; certification tracking; goal-setting; and secure stakeholder data sharing.

How the project works

The platform is open, interoperable and ecosystem-driven, integrating with thousands of data sources, including bidirectional synchronisation with ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. It treats sustainability data infrastructure as a shared resource rather than a premium capability: every building that joins improves benchmark quality for all users, creating network effects that closed, proprietary platforms cannot replicate.

The platform also shifts the industry from measuring sustainability for compliance to using data to drive action. Owners can move directly from baseline measurement to retrofit roadmaps, regulatory compliance plans and energy optimisation strategies within the same ecosystem. Beyond decarbonisation, standardised, verified performance data reduces information asymmetry across capital markets, supporting more accurate asset pricing, better-informed lending and underwriting, and improved climate risk disclosure.

The results

Within four weeks of launch, more than 11,000 buildings representing 2 billion square ft across 36 countries had adopted the Free Solution – the fastest adoption in Measurabl’s 13-year history. Today, more than 21,200 buildings across 44 countries, representing 3.7 billion square ft, use the platform, with early adopters including leading institutional owners, state pension funds and their service providers.

More than 42,000 buildings within Measurabl’s broader platform are subject to energy disclosure requirements, while over 9,000 are exposed to Building Performance Standards; the Free Solution helps owners prepare for these evolving requirements and prioritise efficiency improvements. In 2025, USGBC California selected Measurabl as the preferred platform for its California Building Performance Standards Hub.

Measurabl’s broader platform – which supports more than 23 billion square feet and over $3trn in assets across 96 countries – demonstrates what this infrastructure can achieve at scale. Measurabl Intelligence data shows greenhouse gas emissions across seven US property sectors have declined by 5-25% since pre-COVID baselines. Customer BXP has avoided more than 18 million kWh of electricity consumption and $2.2m in energy costs, while Rubenstein Partners has reduced consumption by 6.2 million kWh and avoided approximately $629,000 in energy expenses. The Free Solution creates the on-ramp to these outcomes for organisations that previously lacked a scalable pathway to participation.