Measurement & Benchmarking
Assessing the environmental performance of portfolios and assets is fundamental to understanding investment risks and opportunities. It enables property owners to identify poorly performing assets or funds and to use this data to identify opportunities for improvement or innovation.
In order to measure and analyse performance data effectively, it is essential to have accurate data gathering tools and robust benchmarks that enable property owners to compare assets, set targets and report on progress. Our measurement and benchmarking workstream covers two of our biggest projects at the BBP, the Real Estate Environmental Benchmark (REEB) and NABERS UK.
Real Estate Environmental Benchmark (REEB) Working Group Chair
Every year, members of the BBP submit data on their managed UK commercial real estate portfolio into the REEB. REEB is one of the only benchmarks based on the performance of buildings ‘in-use’ and is increasingly becoming the industry standard used by investors, fund managers and property owners to compare the performance of commercial properties across the UK.
Find out more about our REEB project here.
Highlights of the last year include:
- Release of the Benchmarks document (including expanded REEB in Context for government-led initiatives)
- Convened Member Eyes Only sessions for owners and managing agents
- Collaboration with UK National Buildings Database, using REEB as a clarifying dataset and presenting to the Benchmarking WG
- Delievered a BBP-REVO project focused on energy benchmarks for large shopping centres
Current Priorities:
- Delivering the 2026 REEB cycle and updating the public benchmarks
- Piloting commercial-residential data collection and deepen analysis of energy intensity across industrial assets
- Collaborate with industry partners to develop best practice guidance on the direct collection of occupier data
Related Resources:
“REEB continues to offer a valuable insight into the performance of operational real estate assets across the country and a yardstick against which to assess the energy use intensity of properties against their peers.
Carl Brooks, Head of Sustainability - Property Management, CBRE
NABERS UK Working Group Co-Chairs
The Better Buildings Partnership has been working for over a decade to help our members improve the energy performance of their property portfolios.
Since the launch of NABERS UK in 2020, our work in this area has been pressing ahead. We have been working alongside BRE and NABERS to build the infrastructure for the new scheme. In April 2021 we launched the Design for Performance (DfP) framework, designed to help office developments and major refurbishments to meet their sustainability goals. Find out more about NABERS UK here.
Highlights of the year include:
- Celebrated the first Design for Performance-rated office achieving certification in operation and meeting its target rating
- Continued momentum for the scheme as CIBSE established themselves as UK administrator
- Brought industry together through a joint NABERS /CIBSE/BBP event and member discussions focused on existing offices
Current Priorities:
- Support the uptake of NABERS UK 'Energy for Offices' (EFO) across existing office buildings
- Embed NABERS UK best practice within wider industry guidance, including green leasing, metering and NZCBS alignment
Related Resources:
