Purpose of this article
This article explains how data is structured in Scaler, including the hierarchy of companies, portfolios, asset groups, assets, building units, and meters, so you know where data lives and how it is used across analytics and reporting.
Scaler’s core data hierarchy
Scaler organises data in a clear, consistent hierarchy.
From highest to most granular, the structure is:
- Company
- Portfolio
- Asset group
- Asset
- Building unit
- Meter
- Consumption records
Each level has a specific purpose and scope.
Company
A company is the top-level entity in Scaler.
At the company level, users can:
- View all portfolios and assets across the organisation
- Access a consolidated asset list spanning all portfolios
- Generate company-level reports
- View aggregated company-level performance metrics
Company-level performance data
For performance metrics: GHG emissions, Scaler automatically aggregates portfolio-level data and displays it at the company level.
This aggregated data is:
- Calculated from portfolio and asset data
- Displayed as read-only values (for example, aggregated Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions)
Because Scaler focuses on real estate-related data, organisations may need to report additional non–real estate emissions at the company level.
In these cases, Scaler allows users to:
- Use the aggregated real estate values as inputs
- Add additional company-level data to reflect the full organisational footprint
This approach ensures transparency between real estate emissions and broader company emissions.
Portfolio
A portfolio represents an investable vehicle or reporting entity.
Depending on the organisation, a portfolio may correspond to:
- A fund (common for non-listed vehicles)
- A REIT or listed real estate entity
- An entire listed real estate company
Portfolios group related assets and act as the primary level for configuration, analytics, and reporting.
Portfolios are where shared settings live, including:
- Fiscal year configuration
- Default unit system
- Portfolio attributes
- Emission factors (across all relevant categories)
- Targets & Benchmarks
Most analytics and reports are generated at the portfolio level, using data from all assets within the portfolio.
Asset group
An asset group allows multiple assets to be treated as a single reporting or investment unit.
Asset groups are commonly used when:
- Multiple buildings function as one operational site
- A single investment spans several buildings
- Reporting frameworks require aggregation across assets
Asset groups provide flexibility by:
- Preserving building-level data at the asset level
- Enabling aggregated views for analytics and reporting
Asset groups do not duplicate or alter underlying data — Scaler aggregates asset data dynamically.
Asset
An asset represents a single physical building in Scaler.
At the asset level, users manage:
- Asset characteristics (location, property type, construction details)
- Floor areas and reporting details
- Certifications and sustainability attributes
- Meters and consumption data
- Asset-level assessments and measures
Assets are the foundation of operational data collection.
Building unit
A building unit represents a leased or occupiable space within an asset, such as an individual tenant space.
Building units are used to:
- Capture tenant-level or space-level performance
- Analyse usage within parts of a building
- Support more granular analytics for multi-tenant assets
Common areas are not represented as building units.
Building units exist within an asset and provide an additional layer of granularity where required.
Meters
A meter represents a source of measured or calculated activity.
Meters are used to record:
- Energy consumption
- Water consumption
- Waste generation
- Refrigerant usage (F-gas installations)
Meters always belong to an asset.
If building units are configured, meters can also be linked to specific building units, allowing Scaler to attribute consumption to individual tenant spaces.
Meters can be:
- Physical meters (for measured data)
- Calculated meters (derived from other meters or inputs)
Consumption records
Consumption records store measured or estimated activity over time.
Consumption data:
- Is recorded against meters
- Can be entered manually, via spreadsheet upload, data requests, or automations
- Feeds performance calculations for energy, emissions, and other metrics
While consumption data is a critical input for performance analytics and reporting, Scaler also captures other ESG data that is not consumption-based.
How structured data enables reuse
Scaler’s data model ensures that data entered once can support multiple outputs.
Once data is entered:
- Emission factors are applied automatically
- Metrics are calculated consistently
- Results appear in analytics dashboards
- The same validated data feeds reports and exports
Why Scaler separates structure from outputs
By separating data inputs from analytics and reporting outputs, Scaler avoids duplication, reduces errors, and ensures consistency across frameworks and time periods.
Common questions about data structure
Can the same asset appear in multiple portfolios?
No. Each asset belongs to a single portfolio.
However, at the company level, Scaler provides a consolidated view of assets across all portfolios.
Users can filter, sort, and group assets dynamically across portfolios.
Assets can also be tagged.
If the same tag is applied consistently across portfolios, assets can be grouped and analysed together at the company level.
Does grouping assets change the underlying data?
No. Asset groups aggregate existing asset data and do not modify asset-level inputs.
Do reports use asset groups automatically?
Yes, for relevant reports.
For example, reporting frameworks such as GRESB automatically respect configured asset groups when generating reports.
Additional Resources
To continue onboarding, read:
- Getting started in Scaler by role
If you want to begin working with data:
- Data onboarding: process overview
- Ways to add data to Scaler