Assessment Structure & Scope
About the Assessment
The GRESB Data Center Assessment is the global standard for sustainability benchmarking and reporting for developers, operators, and investors navigating the fast-growing data center market. Its methodology is consistent across different regions and operational portfolios, and it was built with the partnership of iMasons Climate Accord (iCA).
GRESB and iCA identified five specific challenges motivating the development of a new data center, standard, and assessment:
Entity characteristics
Additional issues (e.g., electricity grid interaction)
Immaterial issues (e.g., tenant satisfaction)
New metrics (e.g., Power Use Effectiveness)
Control (e.g., separation of responsibility between developers, operators, tenants, and other parties)
These challenges required drawing elements from both the GRESB Real Estate and Infrastructure Standards, while adding new, data center-specific elements.
Assessment Structure
The Assessment is made up of six components. These components comprise 69 indicators, with a final point total of 100.
Entity & Reporting Characteristics
Used to collect key information about the reporting entity and portfolio (e.g., nature of ownership, reporting year and currency, size, geography, and type). This information provides context for interpreting results and enables consistent benchmarking and analysis.
This Component is always mandatory.
Characteristics:
Maximum Points: Not Scored
Base score: Fixed
Management
Collects evidence of the entity’s sustainability governance and management approach at the organizational level. These indicators focus on leadership, strategy, transparency, and key enabling processes that support effective decision-making and reduce sustainability-related risks.
This Component is always mandatory.
Characteristics:
Maximum Points: 20 Points
Base score: Fixed
Operations & New Development
Covers sustainability topics that are material across both operational data centers and new build activity. These indicators apply to mixed portfolios and provide a consistent baseline for managing key risks and impacts regardless of whether assets are operating, under development, or both.
This Component is always mandatory.
Characteristics:
Maximum Points: 40 Points
Base score: Fixed
New Development
Applies to portfolios with development activity and focuses on sustainability considerations during planning, design, procurement, and construction. These indicators capture early-stage decisions that influence long-term performance, resilience, and lifecycle impacts.
Characteristics:
Maximum Points: 40 Points
Base score: Variable (depending on entity's portfolio characteristics)
Operations
Applies to portfolios with operational assets and captures operational sustainability performance and management practices. These indicators focus on ongoing resource use and operational impacts, supporting comparability across operating data center portfolios.
Characteristics:
Maximum Points: 40 Points
Base score: Variable (depending on entity's portfolio characteristics)
Innovation
Optional component that allows participants to report examples of innovative management practices or performance outcomes, including work on emerging issues. This supports recognition of market-leading approaches and meaningful step-changes not fully captured by standard indicators.
Characteristics:
Maximum Points: Not Scored
Base score: Fixed
Which component(s) to choose?
Participants should select the Component(s) - New Development and/or Operations - that reflect the composition of their reporting portfolio (i.e., whether the portfolio includes operational sites, development sites, or both).
Regardless of the selected Components, the total assessment score will always equal 100 points. The table below illustrates how the 80 Material Issues Components points are allocated depending on the portfolio composition and the Components selected (Operations and/or New Development).
The Innovation & Emerging Issues Component is always optional. However, participants with practices or performance outcomes at the forefront of sustainability in the data center industry can use this component to showcase their leadership.
Operational sites only
Development sites only
Operational and development sites
*Mandatory Components
The Data Center Assessment uses dynamic scoring, meaning results are calculated based on the entity’s selected Component(s): Operations and/or New Development. Use our Scoring Calculator to simulate different scoring scenarios:
Operational Benchmark
What is the Operational Benchmark?
The Operational Benchmark is made up of three scored components:
Management (20 Points)
Operations & New Development (40 points)
Operations (40 points)
Who should participate?
The Operational Benchmark is suitable for any data center entity or fund that owns operational sites during the reporting year.
New Development Benchmark
What is the New Development Benchmark?
The New Development Benchmark is made up of three scored components:
Management (20 Points)
New Development (40 points)
Operations & New Development (40 points)
Who should participate?
The New Development Benchmark is suitable for any entity or fund that owns new development sites (planning, design, procurement, and construction) during the reporting year.
Operations & New Development Benchmark
What is the Operations & New Development Benchmark?
The Operations & New Development Benchmark is made up of four scored components:
Management (20 Points)
New Development (*)
Operations & New Development (40 points)
Operations (*)
*GRESB calculates the maximum score of these Components sections' based on each entity's Lifecycle Breakdown as reported in indicator RC4.
Example:
RC4
New Development = 75%
Operational = 25%
Components
New Development = 30 Points (75% x 40 Points)
Operational = 10 Points (25% x 40 Points)
Use our Scoring Calculator to simulate different scoring scenarios:
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