Defining the Reporting Portfolio
Indicators RC3 (Location) and RC4 (Business Model and Entity Composition) define the scope of the reporting portfolio in the Data Center Assessment.
Together, they determine where the portfolio is located and how it is structured, including the business models and sites that are included in the assessment. Completing these indicators correctly is critical, as they directly affect the how GRESB scores and benchmarks the assessment response.
This page will help you:
Understand the key concepts used in these indicators (e.g., site, region)
Apply a consistent approach to defining and, where relevant, splitting the organization's portfolio into reporting entities
Key Concepts
What are the UN M49 Regions?
A standard classification of countries and areas developed by the United Nations for statistical purposes, which groups the world into regions and sub-regions based on geographic and statistical considerations. As defined by the United Nations, this classification is “used to arrange countries or areas into regions and subregions for statistical convenience.”
List of geographic regions
Africa
Africa
Northern Africa
015
Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
202
Americas
Americas
Latin America and the Caribbean
419
Americas
Northern America
021
Asia
Asia
Central Asia
143
Asia
Eastern Asia
030
Asia
South-Eastern Asia
035
Asia
Southern Asia
034
Asia
Western Asia
145
Europe
Europe
Eastern Europe
151
Europe
Northern Europe
154
Europe
Southern Europe
039
Europe
Western Europe
155
Oceania
Oceania
Australia and New Zealand
053
Oceania
Melanesia
054
Oceania
Micronesia
057
Oceania
Polynesia
061
What is a site?
A discrete physical location containing one or more data centers or a group of structures/buildings that support data processing, storage, networking, power, cooling, security, and connectivity.
The intent is that a site is homogeneous with respect to controlling local authority, physical electricity supply, resource management issues, and land use context (e.g., rural, suburban, urban).
A site should occur entirely within a single political boundary (e.g., city, county, or equivalent administrative division), utility service territory, and major water resource management area.
Ultimately, these decisions seek to help investors and other data users understand the distribution of business models and control that influence opportunities and constraints on sustainability management and performance measurement.
In this context, a participant needs to consider several factors:
Sites are intended to be discreate physical locations that are homogeneous with respect to key factors influencing sustainability management and performance.
This may allow for the aggregation of multiple facilities or even campuses if they share similar business models and patterns of operational control.
Alternatively, this may require splitting campuses or even facilities if they differ materially in business models and patterns of control.
This information is essential for investors and other stakeholders to understand what a developer or operator can and cannot control across their portfolio. This facilitates a constructive, actionable dialog between stakeholders.
What are business models?
The operational and commercial structure through which a data center entity develops, owns, leases, manages, or delivers data center infrastructure and services to customers. In the context of the GRESB Data Center Assessment, business models can be one of the following:
Owner-Operator (Single-tenant)
Owner-Operator (Multi-tenant)
Developer-Hold Landlord (Powered Shell)
Developer-Hold Landlord (Turnkey Lease)
Developer-to-Sell / Merchant Developer
Managed Operator
Business model definitions
Owner-Operator (Single-tenant):
A data center operated by an enterprise for the sole purpose of delivering and managing services for its employees and customers.
Owner-Operator (Multi-tenant):
A data center in which multiple customers locate their own network(s), servers and storage equipment. The owner, a third party, or colocation may physically manage the equipment.
Developer-Hold Landlord (Powered Shell):
A data center where the landlord/developer provides a shell building with key site infrastructure such as exterior improvements, substation/switchyard, fiber points of entry and security, but the tenant completes the data center fit-out.
Developer-Hold Landlord (Turnkey Lease):
A data center where the landlord/developer delivers a more complete, ready data center product, including MEP equipment, telecommunications systems, air handlers, power distribution units, intermediate distribution frames, & security.
Developer-to-Sell / Merchant Developer:
A data center developer who follows a plan–lease–build–sell model, developing assets to a stabilized state and then selling them to monetize value and recycle capital into new developments.
Managed Operator:
A data center offering server and data storage services, where the customer pays for a service and the vendor provides and manages the required ICT hardware/software and data center equipment. This management service includes the co-hosting of multiple customers, which may take the form of a cloud application environment.
How to Define Your Reporting Portfolio
Defining the reporting portfolio is a critical step in the GRESB Data Center Assessment, as it determines how GRESB scores the assessment and benchmarks its results.
Each assessment represents a single reporting entity, defined by:
A single location
One or more business models
Use the steps below to define the reporting portfolio for the assessment.
Step 1 – Define the Geographic Scope
You can only select one location per assessment.
This defines the boundary of your reporting entity. All data reported in the assessment must relate only to sites within the selected location.
If your portfolio spans multiple regions, you must submit separate assessments per region.
Step 2 – Define the Portfolio Composition
Report the composition of the portfolio within the selected location.
Indicate the portion of the overall organization represented by this reporting entity.
If the reporting entity is part of a larger company or organization, indicate the portion of Capacity (MW) that the reporting portfolio represents
Select the applicable business model(s)
Report the corresponding capacity (MW) and number of sites for each
All information must align with the location selected in RC3 and include only sites within that region.
Step 3 – Decide Whether to Split the Portfolio
Depending on the structure of the portfolio, the reporting entity may be reported as a single assessment or split into multiple reporting entities.
Required: Split by region (one assessment per RC3 location)
Recommended: Split by business model when multiple models are present
Splitting by business model is optional, but can improve the relevance and accuracy of benchmarking insights. It is part of the standard submission process and does not incur additional costs.
Example Reporting Structures
Scenario 1: Single region, single business model
Description The organization operates within a single region and uses a single business model across all sites.
Reporting approach
1 assessment (required)
Example An entity operates only in Western Europe, with all sites classified as Owner-Operator (Multi-tenant).
Scenario 2: Single region, multiple business models
Description The organization operates within a single region and includes multiple business models across its sites.
Reporting approach
1 assessment (allowed)
2+ assessments (recommended)
Example An entity operates only in Northern America, with 40% of capacity classified as Owner-Operator (Multi-tenant) and 60% as Developer-Hold Landlord (Powered Shell).
Scenario 3: Multiple regions, single business model
Description The organization operates across multiple regions but uses a single business model across all sites.
Reporting approach
2+ assessments (required)
Example An entity operates Owner-Operator (Single-tenant) sites across two regions, with 30% of capacity in Western Europe and 70% in South-Eastern Asia.
Scenario 4: Multiple regions, multiple business models
Description The organization operates across multiple regions and includes multiple business models.
Reporting approach
Minimum: 2 assessments (split by region, required)
Up to 4+ assessments (split by region and business model, recommended)
Example: An entity operates across Northern America and Western Europe, with 70% of capacity classified as Owner-Operator (Multi-tenant) and 30% as Developer-to-Sell / Merchant Developer in each region.
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