Purpose of this article
This article helps new users understand what Scaler does, how the platform is structured, and how different parts of the platform work together before beginning setup or data entry.
What Scaler does
Scaler is an ESG data and reporting platform for real estate investment managers.
It helps organisations:
- Collect and validate asset-level ESG data
- Apply consistent methodologies and emission factors
- Analyse performance across portfolios and assets
- Model targets, pathways, and decarbonisation strategies
- Generate audit-ready reports aligned to multiple frameworks
Scaler is designed so that data is entered once, then used consistently across analytics and reporting outputs.
How the Scaler platform is structured
Scaler is organised around two main portals, plus reporting functionality within the Data Collection Portal.
Data Collection Portal
The Data Collection Portal is where all data is added, edited, or configured.
This includes:
- Adding and managing assets
- Entering and updating asset-level data
- Setting up meters and adding consumption
- Uploading data via spreadsheets
- Sending and managing data requests
- Configuring portfolio settings and emission factors
This is the only area of Scaler where data can be changed.
Reports are also accessed from the Data Collection Portal:
- Company-level reports are generated from the company view
- Portfolio-level reports are generated from the portfolio view
Analytics Portal
The Analytics Portal is where data is viewed, analysed, and explored, but not edited.
In this portal, users can:
- View performance dashboards for energy, GHG, water, and waste
- Analyse data at company, portfolio, or asset level
- Filter, group, and customise charts and tables
- View targets, benchmarks, scores, and roadmap outputs
The Analytics Portal is strictly read-only with respect to underlying data.
All calculations and visualisations are driven by data configured in the Data Collection Portal.
How data flows through Scaler
At a high level, Scaler follows a consistent data flow:
- Data is added or updated in the Data Collection Portal
- Scaler applies calculations, emission factors, and methodologies
- Results appear in the Analytics Portal
- The same validated data is used to generate reports
Company, portfolio, asset, and asset group hierarchy
Scaler is built around a clear hierarchy:
- Company
- May contain one or more portfolios
- Portfolio
- Groups related assets
- Holds shared configuration such as emission factors and fiscal year settings
- Asset
- Represents a single physical building in Scaler
- Contains asset-level characteristics, meters, and consumption data
- Asset group
- Allows multiple assets to be grouped together for reporting or investment purposes
- Commonly used when several buildings function as a single reporting asset
- Preserves building-level granularity while enabling aggregated reporting
This structure allows Scaler to support both detailed operational data and flexible reporting structures.
Additional resources
If you’re new to Scaler, continue with:
- Platform walkthrough: key tools and navigation
- How Scaler structures data
- Getting started in Scaler by role
If you’re responsible for setup, you may also want to review:
- New user onboarding checklist
- Account & user settings overview