Decarbonization
Building Decarbonization: Cut Carbon Emissions and Costs in Day-to-Day Operations
Carbon emissions from building operations are increasingly becoming a direct cost factor. Carbon pricing and the EU Emissions Trading System for buildings and road transport (ETS2) increase the pressure on owners and operators to decarbonize their buildings, especially as a building's carbon footprint increasingly affects its financing. Data-driven operational optimization reduces emissions during ongoing operation and without construction work. At the same time, it creates a reliable data foundation for a successful decarbonization strategy.
Decarbonizing Existing Buildings: Why the Pressure to Act Is Growing
For many commercial real estate owners, climate targets are an integral part of their sustainability strategy. But carbon emissions are no longer just a question of climate targets, they are also a question of budget: national carbon pricing, as in Germany, already makes natural gas and heating oil more expensive. From 2028, the EU ETS2 will put a market-based price on emissions from heating fuels across the EU. This makes it all the more important to know the carbon footprint of your buildings precisely and to improve it in a targeted way. In existing buildings, owners and asset managers often face three hurdles.
Lack of carbon transparency:
Energy and operational data are often spread across different systems. This makes it harder to see which buildings cause particularly high emissions and where the greatest savings potential lies.
Measuring progress against the CRREM pathway:
Owners and asset managers want to compare the carbon performance of their portfolio with their own climate targets. The science-based pathways of the Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor (CRREM) provide guidance. Without reliable building data, however, it is hard to judge how far individual properties are from the target decarbonization pathway.
Assessing renovation needs accurately:
It is difficult to judge which structural or technical measures will reduce carbon emissions the most. Without precise knowledge of energy consumption and system operation, it is hard to evaluate renovation potential and prioritize investments.
What Is Building Decarbonization?
Building decarbonization is the gradual reduction of a building's carbon emissions with the goal of climate neutrality. In existing buildings, the focus is primarily on building operations: Scope 1 emissions from burning natural gas or heating oil on site, and Scope 2 emissions from purchased electricity and district heating. One lever for decarbonization is energy efficiency. However, energy efficiency measures success in kilowatt hours saved rather than in metric tons of CO₂ avoided. How much CO₂ a saved kilowatt hour avoids depends on the energy source and its emission factor, meaning how much CO₂ is produced per kilowatt hour. The emission factor of heating oil, for example, is significantly higher than that of natural gas.
Decarbonizing Buildings Through Data-Driven Operations: The Benefits
Reduce Carbon Emissions During Operation
Data-driven, demand-based control of heating, ventilation, and cooling, for example, reduces emissions without construction work and during ongoing operation. Especially for buildings whose renovation is still several years away, the time until then can already be used to cut carbon.
Limit Carbon Costs in the Long Term
Using less natural gas and heating oil also reduces carbon costs. National carbon pricing applies in many countries, and from 2028 the EU ETS2 will add a market-based carbon price for heating fuels across the EU. Lower consumption of fossil fuels makes properties less exposed to rising carbon prices.
Reliable Data for ESG Reporting
Measured consumption and emissions values replace estimates and provide a reliable basis for reporting under the EU Taxonomy and the CSRD. The KPIs can also be transferred to specialized reporting platforms.
Benchmark Against the CRREM Pathway
Real consumption and emissions data make it possible to compare a building's carbon intensity with the relevant CRREM pathway. This reveals potential deviations early, so action can be taken in time.
Prioritize Renovations by Carbon Impact
Operational data shows where particularly high energy consumption and carbon emissions occur. This means investments in structural measures can be prioritized where they have the greatest impact.
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If you operate your own PV system, you can cut emissions further by making the most of the solar power you generate on site.
How aedifion Supports Decarbonization
aedifion connects your existing building systems to its cloud platform, regardless of manufacturer. On this basis, decarbonization can be advanced systematically in five steps.
01
Capture Data
Energy and operational data flow continuously into the platform and are processed in a consistent format.
02
Create Carbon Transparency
aedifion.analytics makes energy consumption and carbon emissions visible at building and portfolio level and identifies inefficiencies.
03
Control Based on Demand
Based on the analyses, AI adapts system operation to actual demand. This reduces energy consumption and carbon emissions during ongoing operation.
04
Document Progress
The processed KPIs form the basis for your ESG reporting and show how your portfolio's carbon footprint is developing.
05
Decarbonize the Remaining Energy Supply
Based on the data collected, a strategy can be developed for decarbonizing the energy still needed, for example through heat pumps, photovoltaics, or grid-friendly electricity purchasing with dynamic tariffs. This makes optimizations measurable and decarbonization progress traceable.
Who Benefits Most From Decarbonizing Building Operations?
ESG and sustainability managers as well as asset managers are particularly challenged if they
- are responsible for portfolios with climate targets or a net zero pathway,
- manage buildings with gas or oil heating whose energy costs depend on the carbon price,
- are subject to reporting under the CSRD and EU Taxonomy, or
- need to implement decarbonization measures cost-effectively.
Frequently Asked Questions
Structural measures such as an insulated building envelope, switching from oil or gas heating to a heat pump, or installing your own photovoltaic system have a strong effect but require time and capital. Optimizing ongoing operations takes effect faster: demand-based control reduces emissions without construction work and at the same time provides the data needed to plan renovations in a targeted way.
From 2028, the EU ETS2 will set a market-based price on emissions from heating fuels. If the price rises above 45 € per metric ton (in 2020 prices), additional allowances are released. This is not a fixed price cap. Model calculations by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) project prices between 71 € and 261 € per metric ton for 2030, depending on the scenario. In Germany, the national carbon price already rose from 25 € per metric ton in 2021 to 55 € in 2025.
ETS2 (EU Emissions Trading System 2) is a separate EU emissions trading system for fuels used in buildings and road transport. It starts in 2028 and, in Germany, largely replaces the national carbon price. Fuel suppliers buy the allowances and pass the costs on through natural gas and heating oil prices. The less fossil energy a building consumes, the lower these costs.
The Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor (CRREM) provides science-based decarbonization pathways for real estate, aligned with the Paris climate goals and differentiated by country and property type. They show how a building's carbon and energy intensity should develop until 2050. A reliable assessment requires real consumption data from operations. If a building is above its pathway, this can weigh on its value.
Your Path to a Decarbonized Portfolio
Talk to us about your portfolio: together, we will clarify how data-driven operational optimization can reduce your buildings' carbon emissions and what foundation this creates for your decarbonization strategy.
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