Brightly Software, a Siemens company and the global leader in intelligent asset management solutions, has introduced Targets, a new carbon planning module within its ESG and sustainability platform, Stream. This feature supports decarbonization planning and carbon management for commercial buildings, marking a significant milestone in the pursuit of carbon neutrality and environmental stewardship.
“The addition of advanced carbon planning capabilities to Stream represents a significant advancement toward our shared goal of sustainability for commercial buildings,” said Nigel Hughes, head of product at Brightly. “By empowering sustainability managers and commercial building portfolio managers with actionable insights and data-driven strategies, we are enabling them to plan, implement, and monitor their decarbonization strategies to reduce emissions and foster a more sustainable future.”
Chief sustainability officers (CSOs) are pivotal in shaping ESG strategies, while chief financial officers (CFOs) influence overall funding decisions. Stream allows users to create decarbonization measures for specific properties and estimate carbon impacts. Targets goes further by modeling what-if scenarios to understand multiple pathways and their impacts at the portfolio level. This insight not only provides visibility into the best decarbonization plans for a user’s building portfolio but also aligns leadership teams and stakeholders across the organization with a shared vision.
Commercial real estate entities face complexities and risks on the road to zero net carbon emissions. By offering a powerful tool for carbon management, Brightly empowers organizations to develop short- and long-term plans, making sustainability a core tenet of their business strategy. This fosters resilience, competitiveness, and long-term value creation. Targets provide the data-driven insights required for stakeholders to make informed decisions that align with their sustainability goals.
Key feature enhancements include:
- Measures Definition: Users can define different decarbonization measures for each building and group them into different pathways. The platform assesses carbon emissions across entire commercial building portfolios for various pathways, providing a detailed baseline for strategic planning.
- Scenario Analysis and Optimization: Users can explore mitigation strategies and investment scenarios to identify the most effective pathways toward carbon reduction while optimizing financial returns at the building and portfolio levels.
- Performance Monitoring and Reporting: Once a pathway is selected for a commercial property, the solution leverages Stream’s utility bill data to offer real-time monitoring capabilities. This enables stakeholders to track the progress of the selected measures against targets and generate detailed reports for internal analysis and external stakeholders.
“As the United Nations and other global organizations focus on cutting emissions, the spotlight is on cities and local communities as buildings contribute up to 40% of the world’s carbon footprint. I’m pleased to support our clients in utilizing data-driven insights to make better sustainability decisions,” said Don Kurelich, chief executive officer at Brightly. “Technological advancements empower governments and commercial buildings to transform energy consumption and maintenance efficiency for a more sustainable future. As a Siemens company, Brightly is exceptionally proud to contribute to this overarching corporate mission to support our communities and improve the world.”
The launch of Targets within Stream underscores Brightly’s commitment to environmental responsibility and innovation. Brightly engaged large commercial real estate companies to gather feedback and collaborate on critical features within Targets to support clients in meeting their sustainability needs and mitigating carbon emissions. Brightly collects and manages data from more than 6,000 buildings, 250,000 annual invoices, 16,000 utility accounts, and 500 vendors in North America. Clients, on average, realize 20% in energy savings after using Brightly.
