Real estate investors are increasingly embracing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) as part of their portfolio strategy largely in response to mounting pressure from regulators, stakeholders, and public sentiment.
The public sector too is concerned with ESG and sustainable development, and local governments and urban planners are building cities with smart intelligence and technologies that comply with global sustainable initiatives.
Data plays a huge role in real estate ESG activities in both the private and public sectors. Here’s a look at how ATTOM is meeting the needs of property investors and urban planners.
ESG Is Not Just a Trend
Public and regulatory pressure to protect the environment is forcing both public and private entities to change their approach to real estate. For property investors, there are also greater profits to be had in doing so.
A study by António Marques, João Fragoso Januário, and Carlos Oliveira Cruz found that green-certified buildings can achieve substantial energy savings over a building’s lifecycle.[1] The American Institute of Architects puts a value on those energy savings, estimating that for every dollar saved on energy costs, a property’s goes up by around $18.32 with a 5.5% capitalization rate.[2]
Those figures are meaningful to property investors. However, to reap the rewards of ESG efforts, entities must show that they are conforming to ESG practices and adhering to reporting requirements. Jumping through these hoops is an expensive undertaking, and it requires data, a lot of data.
The Role of Property Data in ESG Initiatives
Property investors and asset managers who want to take advantage of the benefits of ESG have to document their sustainable practices and the effects. For example, the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) requires extensive data collection to reflect the extent and impact of ESG initiatives.
Established in 2009, GRESB has become a leading ESG benchmark for real estate and infrastructure investments globally and delivers ESG information on investment activity to the financial markets.
GRESB-associated companies must conduct ESG due diligence and incorporate ESG data-driven assessments into the due diligence process for all potential investments. This includes evaluating a property’s environmental impact, social contributions, and governance practices, as well as assessing risks related to climate change, regulatory compliance, and community relations.
What Does Property Data Do for Asset Managers?
Property data allows asset managers to achieve three main goals regarding ESG initiatives:
- Attract new investors by showing comprehensive and standardized ESG data and analysis on portfolio and asset decisions
- Compare their portfolio ESG performance with those of peers and find ways to improve their investing strategies
- Demonstrate with data to the market and regulators that they are conforming to industry standards and having an impact
Regular monitoring and reporting on ESG performance is where ATTOM’s property data make a difference.
The Data Facilitating ESG Reporting
ATTOM’s property data includes information on the environment, social concerns, and governance to aid reporting and compliance with ESG benchmarks.
- Environmental Hazards
ATTOM’s data show areas subject to environmental hazards, natural disasters, flood zones, wildfires, and climate change risk. These data allow organizations to assess, mitigate, and report on the risks related to property damage and environmental degradation.
- Demographic Data
ATTOM also provides demographic information, such as crime statistics, community characteristics, and local economic indicators allowing organizations to find trends and monitor results of projects.
- Governance Data Points
ATTOM’ s property recorder data includes tax histories, transaction histories, and legal records, which can be used to ensure transparency and accountability in governance and real estate operations.
GRESB is just one ESG reporting initiative. Other reporting bodies are the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
Asset managers are concerned with ESG initiatives to build wealth for the private sector only. However, the public sector is also instituting broad and wide-ranging sustainable policies to protect the environment through urban planning.
The Merging of ESG and Urban Planning
According to the World Economic Forum, cities are home to 50% of the world’s population, yet they account for two-thirds of the world’s energy consumption and 70% of the world’s emissions.[3] Growing pressure on governments to tackle ESG issues is changing urban planning.
Many governments are using emerging smart city property tools and technologies in their ESG approaches. Under federal law, city governments are required to monitor their sustainable cities data and report on the progress of initiatives. This reporting includes providing data on energy efficiency, water and waste management, and air pollution.
ATTOM’s Role in ESG-Based Urban Planning
ATTOM’s data supports urban planning, particularly energy-efficiency efforts.
- ATTOM’s data includes the age of buildings, size, and location. These factors affect energy consumption and the potential for energy-saving upgrades.
- ATTOM’s data can aid insurance underwriters when preparing loans for energy efficiency projects, such as installing solar panels or upgrading insulation, by assessing potential for future savings.
- ATTOM’s data can indicate areas and properties ripe for energy efficiency improvements, such as smart home solutions for new builds or properties in areas with high utility costs.
- Businesses involved in renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies can use ATTOM’s data to analyze market trends, identify potential customers, and optimize their business strategies.
- ATTOM’s data include geospatial building footprint data. These data can aid in assessing solar power potential and the costs involved, estimate building density, and plan for electric vehicle charging stations.
ATTOM’s Geospatial Data and Urban Planning
ATTOM’s geospatial building footprint data covers 187 million buildings nationwide. These footprints are particularly valuable to urban planners to optimize land use, improve infrastructure, and enhance transportation networks.
Land Use
Geospatial data show how land is used and the best options for future development. Urban maps allow planners to visualize new housing developments and how they might impact an area. This application of data is also integral to commercial projects and the preservation of natural spaces.
Infrastructure
Geospatial property data can be combined with demographic data to help planners visualize existing infrastructure and pinpoint current needs. Planners can respond to population growth and urban expansion exposed by the data and analytics.
By looking at real-time data on traffic patterns, planners alleviate congestion with redesigned road networks. Geospatial data can help to map out where new utility lines should be installed so that residents have reliable access to water, power, and communication services.
The Environment
Urban planners can use geospatial data to identify flood zones and predict the environmental impact of new developments. Data can help planners to ensure cities grow while protecting the environment and preparing for the effects of climate change.
Population
Urban planners must manage increasingly scarce resources with the need for more housing and public infrastructure. Geospatial data combined with demographic property data helps planners allocate resources by showing growth trends across a city. By visualizing population density, planners can forecast where to build schools, hospitals, or community centers in growing areas while anticipating water and energy needs.
ATTOM’s Role in Private and Public Sector ESG Initiatives
ATTOM’s data can be integrated with satellite imagery and Internet-of-Things devices to give planners insights into an urban environment. They can monitor air quality, waste management, and energy grids. In addition, geospatial data support zoning decisions, smart city initiatives, and long-term infrastructure planning.
At the same time, private sector investors rely on property data to report on their ESG real estate efforts and impact. Collecting the required data at the individual asset level is complex and time consuming but ATTOM’s data delivery makes the ESG reporting process easier and achievable.
Contact an ATTOM representative to find out how you can leverage ATTOM’s property data and monitor your ESG efforts.
[1] António Marques, João Fragoso Januário, “Sustainability Certifications in Real Estate: Value and Perception,” MDPI.com, November 28, 2024, https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/14/12/3823#B8-buildings-14-03823. Accessed May 12, 2025.
[2] Ibid
[3] Mounir Kabbara, “11 ways cities can adopt an ESG approach to development and management,” January 12, 2023, World Economic Forum, https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/01/davos23-cities-adopt-esg-development-management/. Accessed May 12, 2025.
Written by: Jennifer Von Pohlmann