Product Spotlight: Balance of Buildings & Tenant Emissions View

Overview: 

In the world of commercial real estate, understanding and managing energy consumption data is crucial for accurate sustainability reporting and operational efficiency. A significant aspect of this is dealing with Scope 3 emissions, which primarily originate from activities not directly controlled by the company but are still part of its value chain—like tenant energy use. Here, the balance of building feature provided by WatchWire’s platform becomes invaluable.

Balance Building accounts capture the consumption of direct metered tenants. Having access to this consumption allows building owners to easily track their Scope 3 emissions in WatchWire.

Balance of Building = Total aggregated consumption – Landlord /Tenant consumption account 

How it works 

Module: Invoice Management

For example, let’s consider electricity consumption for the entire building is 68,475.87 kWh. However, the property has two accounts at the tenant/landlord level accounts.  

The balance building account captures the total aggregate emissions from Energy Star and subtracts the aggregate data from the available accounts.  

Example 1: The property has two accounts with individual consumption of 15,051 kWh and 4,509.44 kWh. WatchWire calculation will look like following:  

Example 2: The property has two accounts, but the building owner only has consumption data for one landlord/tenant with 4,509.44 kWh  

Navigating WatchWire:

The “Balance of Building” account displays aggregate consumption data, subtracting any consumption recorded by accounts at the landlord/tenant level.  

To access total aggregate consumption, navigate to the summary tab at the commodity level. The total consumption for the entire property, such as 68,475.87 kWh, is displayed at the top node.  

Note: WatchWire clients are instructed to designate the account type of aggregate consumption meters as “BalanceBuilding” within Energy Star.  

Sentence Filter Report: can help pull aggregate data at a property level (includes building balance and accounts)  

To see property level usage – refer to Pivot table tab  

To see data gaps at a meter level – refer to the Sequential data Tab  

Alternatively, you can get raw aggregate data from ESPM per property

Adjust accounts that can be aggregated at a property and / or regional level:

Instructions: 

If a customer wants a BB account: 

• Confirm account preference to implementation team 
• Implementation teams Creates the BB account in WatchWire. 

• Setups up the ESPM integration(if we are bringing in aggregate data from ESPM) and sets BB reference accounts 
• Import data from ESPM. 

If a customer prefers a straight aggregate account: 

• Confirm their preference with mplementation team 
• Implementation team Sets up the aggregate account in WatchWire. 
• Team sets up ESPM integration  
• Avoid subtracting landlord or tenant data unless requested. 

Importance

WatchWire’s software offers a sophisticated tool that ensures all utility data, including energy, water, and waste metrics, is consolidated accurately at the property level. This capability is crucial because it prevents the common issue of double-counting consumption data between tenants and landlords. By distinguishing the utility consumption specifically attributable to tenants, WatchWire effectively classifies these as Scope 3 emissions. This feature is not just about accuracy; it’s about relevance and responsibility in environmental impact reporting.

Accurately accounting for Scope 3 emissions does more than just refine data—it opens up new avenues for environmental and cost reduction strategies. Companies often overlook the potential savings and environmental benefits that can be achieved by managing tenant-driven energy usage. With a clear and accurate delineation of consumption, property managers can engage more effectively with tenants on sustainability initiatives, potentially leading to significant reductions in overall energy consumption and associated costs. Ultimately, the ability to track and analyze tenant-specific energy consumption and Scope 3 emissions allows companies to make more informed decisions about energy management and procurement, take meaningful actions toward sustainability goals, and improve their market positioning and compliance with environmental regulations.

About WatchWire

WatchWire by Tango is a market-leading sustainability and energy data management platform that uses cloud-based software to collect, automize, and analyze utility, energy, and sustainability data metrics. WatchWire streamlines, automates, and standardizes your sustainability reporting process by integrating directly and/or providing reporting exports to ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, LEED Arc, GRESB, CDP, SASB, GRI, and more. The platform provides customizable dashboards, which allow asset managers, sustainability managers, engineers, and more to monitor individual key performance indicators (KPIs) and create custom views for specific use cases. WatchWire provides:

• Automatic collection of energy, utility, sustainability, and emissions data through real-time metering. The data is then fully audited and organized in one place
• GHG emissions tracking
• Goal tracking (e.g., Net Zero, SBTi, waste diversion)
• Carbon offset view of power purchases from the grid vs. on-site renewables generated vs. off-site RECs.
• Opportunities to implement projects (track EEMs) and monitor distributed energy resource production (e.g. on-site solar)

To discover more about WatchWire and its capabilities, you can visit our website, blog, or resource library, request a demo, or follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Twitter to keep up-to-date on the latest energy and sustainability insights, news, and resources.