The money will accelerate Measurabl’s efforts to expand into new markets and introduce additional features to help drive decarbonization in commercial real estate.
“I think we’ve got to go from measurement and disclosure, and we need to get to action,” said Matt Ellis, founder and chief executive of Measurabl. “Today, there is a foundational change in the way society, government and capital markets expect businesses to be run. We need to actually help our customers decarbonize their real estate portfolios.”
Founded in 2013, Measurabl has clients in 80 countries that use its subscription software to collect and report “investment grade’ sustainability data on 11 billion square feet of commercial buildings.
Depending on the source, commercial real estate is responsible for roughly 40 percent of the world’s carbon emissions. But gathering and reporting this information manually can be difficult for owners and building managers.
Ellis saw this firsthand as director of sustainability solutions at CB Richard Ellis before starting Measurabl. It now counts as subscribers several U.S. publicly traded real estate investment trusts and global real estate asset managers representing a combined $2 trillion in gross asset value.
“We have partnered with Measurabl for many years to help implement environmental, social and governance initiatives across our real estate portfolios, and their data platforms are helping us realize real, measurable benefits in the operational efficiency and sustainability performance of our investments,” said Katherine Sherwin, global head of sustainable investing for BlackRock.
While sustainability measurement and reporting software remain its core business, the next step for Measurabl is to tap its trove of data that it has collected over the years to roll out a new product to help real estate lenders and equity investors pinpoint the environmental risks in the commercial buildings that they’re financing.
This latest funding round was led by Energy Impact Partners, a sustainable energy-focused investment firm. New investors include an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group: Colliers and Cushman & Wakefield: Lincoln Property and individuals from Stone Point Capital.
Prior to this latest funding round, Measurabl raised $35 million, with investors including S&P Global, Salesforce Ventures, Sway Ventures, Constellation Technology Ventures, and Building Ventures.
The company currently employs roughly 115 workers, said Ellis. He aims to boost employment to 200 by the end of the first quarter next year. Measurabl also eventually plans to roll out a professional services business to help customers transition “brown” buildings into sustainable “green” buildings.
“The potential to decarbonize the world’s largest asset class is an imperative that relies on making accurate environmental, social and governance data readily available,” said Ellis. “When we accomplish this, every real estate transaction—from buying individual buildings to securitizing loans backed by hundreds of assets—can be sustainable, with profound benefits for business and society.”
