Setting and viewing Targets, Pathways & Benchmarks – Scaler

Purpose of this article

This article explains how targets, pathways, and benchmarks work in Scaler, how to configure them in the Data Collection Portal, and where they appear in the Analytics Portal and Roadmaps.

It is intended for users who want to:

Define internal performance targets and multi-year decarbonization pathways

Compare portfolio performance against industry benchmarks

Visualize progress over time in analytics and roadmap views

Understanding targets, pathways, and benchmarks

What is a target?

Targets are internal performance objectives set by your organization. Examples include energy use intensity reductions, emissions reduction goals, or data coverage targets.

What is a pathway?

Pathways are multi-year trajectory targets that define performance goals across multiple years (typically through 2050). In Scaler, pathways are a specific type of target used exclusively in Roadmaps to visualize long-term decarbonization strategies.

The term "pathway" is used in two related contexts:

Setup context: "Pathway targets" refers to multi-year targets you configure in Data Collection Portal → Portfolio → Targets & Benchmarks → Targets & Pathways

Roadmaps context: "Pathways" refers to the trajectory visualizations that appear when viewing Roadmaps in the Analytics Portal

What is a benchmark?

Benchmarks represent external reference points, such as industry averages or third-party standards, used to compare performance. Examples include AI-derived benchmarks from Scaler's dataset or EPA benchmarks.

Functional similarity

Targets, pathways, and benchmarks behave similarly in Scaler's interface. The key difference is intent:

Targets and pathways = goals your organization sets

Benchmarks = external comparators

Target and pathway types

Single-year targets

Single-year targets define a specific performance value for a single reporting year.

Supported aspects:

Energy

GHG emissions

Water

Waste

Building Certifications

Supported metrics:

Use intensity

Data coverage

Absolute consumption

Where they appear: Single-year targets appear on applicable Analytics dashboards as reference lines.

Analytics Portal → Portfolio → Performance → relevant tab → relevant chart

Pathway targets

Pathway targets define multi-year trajectories and are used exclusively in Roadmaps.

Supported aspects:

Energy

GHG emissions

CO₂

Strategy types:

Steady: Linear reduction from start year to end year

Manual input: Custom value for each year through 2050

Where they appear: Pathway targets appear only in the Roadmaps tool, not in standard Analytics dashboards.

Analytics Portal → Roadmap Analysis

Default vs. custom

Default (preloaded) targets and pathways

Scaler includes preloaded pathway targets that can be toggled on or off:

CRREM 1.5°C (Paris-aligned)

CRREM 2.0°C

CRREM North America pathways

DGBC Netherlands pathways

Understanding CRREM pathways as targets

Although CRREM pathways are developed and maintained by a third party, many organizations adopt them as their de facto decarbonization pathways rather than defining fully custom pathways.

In Scaler, CRREM pathways therefore behave like targets: some can be enabled or disabled, viewed in Roadmap tools, and used to track performance over time against a defined trajectory.

Custom targets and pathways

You can create your own targets and pathways:

Portfolio-wide: Applies to all assets in the portfolio

Property subtype-specific: Applies only to assets matching a specific property subtype and country

Property subtype-specific targets and pathways only appear in Analytics and Roadmaps when filtering by the relevant country and property subtype.

Understanding benchmarks

Default benchmarks

Scaler includes a large set of preloaded benchmarks:

AI-derived benchmarks from Scaler's dataset

EPA benchmarks (US)

Each benchmark specifies:

Property type and subtype

Country applicability

Aspect and metric

You can and toggle these benchmarks on or off to control whether they appear in Analytics.

Custom benchmarks

Custom benchmarks can be created for:

Portfolio-wide: Applies to all assets

Property subtype-specific: Applies only to assets matching a specific property subtype and country

Custom benchmarks follow the same configuration process as targets.

Configuring targets and pathways

All target and pathway setup happens in the Data Collection Portal.

Navigation

Data Collection Portal → Portfolio → Targets & Benchmarks → Targets & Pathways

Creating a single-year target

Step 1: Choose scope

Select whether the target applies:

Portfolio-wide, or

Property subtype-specific (requires selecting country and property subtype)

Step 2: Define target details

When creating a single-year target, specify:

Target name

GRESB target reporting (Yes/No) — indicates whether this target is relevant for GRESB reporting

Target type — Select single year

Aspect — Energy, GHG Emissions, Water, Waste, or Building Certifications

Metric — Use intensity, Absolute consumption, or Data coverage

Target year — Year the target applies to

Target value — Numeric performance goal

Owner (optional) — Person or team responsible

Note (optional) — Methodology or context

Step 3: Control visibility

Toggle Show in Analytics on or off to control whether this target appears in Analytics dashboards, where relevant.

Creating a pathway target

Step 1: Choose scope

Select whether the pathway applies:

Portfolio-wide, or

Property subtype-specific

Step 2: Define pathway details

When creating a pathway target, specify:

Target name

GRESB target reporting (Yes/No)

Target type — Select pathway

Aspect — Energy, GHG Emissions, or CO₂

Metric — Use intensity

Strategy — Steady (linear) or Manual input (custom values per year)

Start year and End year

Target values — For Steady: start and end values. For Manual input: value for each year through 2050

Owner (optional)

Note (optional)

Step 3: Control visibility

Toggle Show in Analytics on or off to control whether this pathway appears in Roadmaps.

Note: Despite the name "Show in Analytics," this toggle actually controls whether pathway targets appear in Analytics Portal → Roadmaps, since pathway targets do not appear in standard Analytics dashboards.

Enabling or disabling default pathways

To control whether preloaded pathways (CRREM, DGBC) appear in Roadmaps:

Navigate to: Data Collection Portal → Portfolio → Targets & Benchmarks → Targets & Pathways

Locate the pathway under Default Targets

Toggle Show in Analytics on or off

Configuring benchmarks

All benchmark setup happens in the Data Collection Portal.

Navigation

Data Collection Portal → Portfolio → Targets & Benchmarks → Benchmarks

Creating a custom benchmark

Step 1: Choose scope

Select whether the benchmark applies:

Portfolio-wide, or

Property subtype-specific

Step 2: Define benchmark details

When creating a custom benchmark, specify:

Benchmark name

Aspect — Energy, GHG Emissions, Water, Waste, or Building Certifications

Metric — Use intensity, Absolute consumption, or Data coverage

Benchmark year — Reference year for the benchmark

Benchmark value — Numeric reference value

Note (optional) — Source or methodology

Step 3: Control visibility

Toggle Show in Analytics on or off to control whether this benchmark appears in Analytics dashboards.

Enabling or disabling default benchmarks

To control whether preloaded benchmarks appear in Analytics:

Navigate to: Data Collection Portal → Portfolio → Targets & Benchmarks → Benchmarks

Use search or filters to locate the benchmark

Toggle Show in Analytics on or off

Viewing targets and benchmarks in Analytics

Navigation

Analytics Portal → Portfolio → Performance

How single-year targets and benchmarks appear

On supported Analytics dashboards:

A Select target and benchmark dropdown appears in the top-right corner of applicable graphs

Selecting a target or benchmark overlays a dotted reference line on the graph

If no targets or benchmarks exist for that aspect and metric, an Add target or benchmark link appears instead

Property subtype behavior

Property subtype-specific targets and benchmarks only appear when:

The Analytics dashboard is filtered by the relevant country and property subtype

Portfolio-wide targets and benchmarks always appear regardless of filters.

Viewing pathways in Roadmaps

Navigation

Analytics Portal → Portfolio → Roadmap Analysis

How pathway targets appear

Pathway targets appear only in Roadmaps, not in standard Analytics dashboards

Multiple pathways can be selected simultaneously using the pathway selector

Selected pathways display as trajectory lines on the Roadmap visualizations

Property subtype behavior

Property subtype-specific pathways only appear when:

The Roadmaps view is filtered by the relevant country and property subtype

Portfolio-wide pathways always appear regardless of filters.

Note: Pathway targets currently apply only to Energy and GHG emissions aspects, not Water or Waste.