Designing ESRS-ready KPIs for facility teams

How facility and ESG teams design ESRS-ready energy, water and carbon KPIs.

TL;DR

For many organisations, the biggest challenge of CSRD compliance is not producing the sustainability report itself. It is ensuring that the data behind the report is accurate, traceable and connected to day-to-day operations.

Under the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), companies must disclose detailed information on energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, water use and resource efficiency. Much of this data originates in buildings, assets and facilities operations.

This means facility leaders now play a critical role in sustainability reporting.

The organisations making the most progress are not creating separate ESG databases. Instead, they are building ESRS-ready KPI frameworks directly into their asset, maintenance and energy management processes.

In this article, we explore how facility leaders can design audit-ready KPIs, structure operational data for ESRS reporting and create a scalable framework that supports both compliance and operational performance.

Key Takeaways

• CSRD reporting depends heavily on operational data generated by facilities and assets.
• ESRS-ready KPIs must connect sustainability metrics to real-world assets and activities.
• Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) platforms provide the foundation for audit-ready reporting.
• A structured asset and meter hierarchy is essential for accurate ESG disclosures.
• Integrating facilities operations and sustainability reporting reduces compliance effort and improves decision-making.

Why CSRD Changes the Role of Facility Management

For decades, facility management performance was measured through operational metrics such as uptime, maintenance response times, asset availability and energy costs.

These indicators remain important. However, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) introduces a new requirement: operational performance must now be linked to sustainability outcomes.

This fundamentally changes how facilities teams measure success.

Today, organisations are expected to demonstrate not only how efficiently buildings operate but also how those operations contribute to climate goals, resource efficiency and broader ESG commitments.

As a result, facility leaders are increasingly expected to answer questions such as:

• Which buildings contribute most to Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions?
• How does energy intensity vary across sites?
• Where are the largest opportunities to reduce water consumption?
• Which maintenance interventions contribute to decarbonisation targets?
• Can reported sustainability metrics be traced back to specific assets and operational activities?

Answering these questions requires a new generation of KPIs that connect operational performance with sustainability reporting.

The challenge is that many organisations still manage asset data, maintenance records, utility consumption and ESG reporting in separate systems.

This fragmentation creates reporting risks, increases reconciliation effort and makes audits more difficult.

Leading organisations are addressing this challenge by treating facilities data as a strategic sustainability asset.

Understanding ESRS Requirements for Facilities

Although the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) were not written specifically for facility managers, many of the required disclosures depend directly on facilities and asset-related data.

Three standards are particularly relevant.

ESRS E1: Climate Change

This standard requires organisations to report:

• Energy consumption by source
• Energy mix
• Scope 1 emissions
• Scope 2 emissions
• Relevant Scope 3 emissions
• Progress against climate targets

Much of this information originates from building systems, energy meters and operational assets.

ESRS E3: Water and Marine Resources

Organisations must disclose:

• Water withdrawals
• Water consumption
• Water discharges
• Water-related risks

For facilities teams, this means understanding how water is used across buildings, processes and operational activities.

ESRS E5: Resource Use and Circular Economy

This standard focuses on:

• Waste generation
• Resource efficiency
• Reuse and recycling activities
• Material flows

Maintenance activities, equipment replacements and lifecycle management decisions all contribute to these disclosures.

The implication is clear: sustainability reporting increasingly depends on operational data quality.

Designing ESRS-Ready KPIs and Data Models

The most common mistake organisations make is starting with reporting templates.

Successful organisations start with operational data.

The objective is to create a data structure that supports both facilities management and sustainability reporting.

Step 1: Create a Common Asset Hierarchy

An ESRS-ready framework begins with a structured asset model.

A typical hierarchy includes:

Portfolio → Site → Building → System → Asset

For example:

• Portfolio
• Hospital
• Building A
• HVAC
• Chiller 01

This structure allows organisations to connect sustainability metrics to physical assets.

Additional attributes should include:

• Location
• Business function
• Asset criticality
• Energy source
• Sustainability relevance

This creates the foundation for consistent reporting across multiple sites.

Step 2: Build a Meter Hierarchy

Energy and water reporting depend on reliable metering structures.

A mature hierarchy typically includes:

• Main utility meters
• Building-level meters
• System-level sub-meters
• Process-specific meters

Without this structure, organisations struggle to allocate consumption accurately and produce credible disclosures.

Step 3: Define Operational Sustainability KPIs

The most effective KPIs are those facilities teams can directly influence.

Climate KPIs (ESRS E1)

Examples include:

• Total electricity consumption
• Natural gas consumption
• Energy intensity per m²
• Energy intensity per business unit
• Scope 1 emissions
• Scope 2 emissions

Water KPIs (ESRS E3)

Examples include:

• Total water consumption
• Water intensity per m²
• Water intensity per operational unit
• Leakage rates

Circularity KPIs (ESRS E5)

Examples include:

• Waste generated
• Waste diverted from landfill
• Recycled materials used
• Refrigerant leakage rates

The key is ensuring that every KPI can be traced back to operational data.

Solutions and Trade-offs

Organisations generally adopt one of three approaches.

Approach 1: Spreadsheet-Based ESG Reporting

Advantages:

• Low initial investment
• Quick implementation

Limitations:

• Significant manual effort
• High audit risk
• Limited scalability

Approach 2: Dedicated ESG Reporting Platforms

Advantages:

• Simplified disclosure management
• Improved reporting workflows

Limitations:

• Often disconnected from operational systems
• Requires extensive data reconciliation

Approach 3: Integrated Facilities and Sustainability Management

Advantages:

• Single source of truth
• Better data quality
• Reduced reporting effort
• Stronger audit readiness
• Continuous performance monitoring

Limitations:

• Requires stronger governance
• Greater implementation effort

For most organisations, the third approach provides the greatest long-term value.

Real-World Use Case: CUF

As one of Portugal's leading healthcare groups, CUF manages a complex network of hospitals and clinics where operational continuity, regulatory compliance and efficiency are critical.

Managing thousands of assets across multiple facilities requires accurate information, standardised processes and complete visibility into operations.

By implementing Nextbitt, CUF gained a centralised platform for managing assets, maintenance activities and operational workflows across its healthcare network.

This provided:

• Greater visibility into asset performance
• Improved maintenance planning
• Standardised operational processes
• Better control of facility-related activities
• Enhanced decision-making through consolidated data

While the initiative was not designed specifically for CSRD reporting, it illustrates an important principle.

Organisations cannot build reliable sustainability reporting on fragmented operational data.

Creating a centralised operational data foundation is often the first step toward developing ESRS-ready KPIs and supporting future sustainability disclosure requirements.

Technical Evaluation Checklist

Before developing an ESRS-ready KPI framework, organisations should assess:

Asset Data

✔ Is there a complete and accurate asset register?

✔ Are assets classified consistently across all sites?

Metering

✔ Are energy and water meters digitally connected?

✔ Is consumption data available at the required level of detail?

Maintenance Processes

✔ Are maintenance activities digitally recorded?

✔ Can sustainability impacts be linked to operational actions?

Governance

✔ Are KPI definitions standardised?

✔ Are data ownership responsibilities clearly defined?

Reporting

✔ Can every KPI be traced back to operational data?

✔ Can supporting evidence be produced for audits?

Stats and Benchmarks

Organisations with integrated operational and sustainability data typically achieve:

• Faster sustainability reporting cycles
• Reduced manual data collection effort
• Improved audit readiness
• Higher data accuracy
• Better identification of energy-saving opportunities

Industry research consistently shows that organisations with mature asset and energy data management capabilities are better positioned to meet evolving ESG reporting requirements.

How Nextbitt Supports CSRD Readiness

CSRD compliance requires more than reporting software.

It requires accurate, traceable and continuously updated operational data.

Nextbitt helps organisations build this foundation by connecting:

• Asset management
• Maintenance management
• Energy management
• Operational workflows
• Sustainability initiatives

Through a unified platform, organisations can create structured data models that support both operational excellence and sustainability reporting.

This reduces reporting effort while improving data quality and decision-making.

Final Thoughts

CSRD is changing how organisations think about facilities management.

What was once considered operational data is now strategic sustainability data.

Facility leaders are becoming key contributors to ESG performance, providing the information needed to support climate targets, resource efficiency initiatives and regulatory disclosures.

The organisations that succeed will not be those that simply automate reporting.

They will be those that build a robust operational data foundation capable of supporting both daily decisions and long-term sustainability goals.

For many organisations, the journey toward ESRS-ready reporting begins not in the sustainability department, but in the assets, systems and facilities that power the business every day.

Technical FAQ

What does ESRS mean for facility managers?

ESRS requires organisations to report sustainability information that often originates from building operations, assets and utility consumption.

Which ESRS standards are most relevant to facilities?

The most relevant standards are ESRS E1 (Climate Change), ESRS E3 (Water and Marine Resources) and ESRS E5 (Resource Use and Circular Economy).

Why are asset registers important for CSRD compliance?

Accurate asset registers provide the structure needed to connect sustainability KPIs to operational activities and physical assets.

What are ESRS-ready KPIs?

These are KPIs that support sustainability disclosures while remaining traceable to operational data sources such as meters, assets and maintenance activities.

How can organisations improve audit readiness?

By integrating asset, maintenance, energy and sustainability data within a governed and traceable operational framework.

What role does EAM play in ESG reporting?

Enterprise Asset Management platforms provide the operational backbone needed to collect, structure and govern sustainability-related data.