About Cortland
Cortland is a global leader in multifamily real estate investment, development, and management. With a growing portfolio and increasing investor expectations around sustainability, Cortland sought a more rigorous, data-driven approach to ESG performance, transparency, and long-term value creation.
Industry
Multifamily Real Estate Investment
Location
Global (U.S. & international holdings)
featured services
ESG Data Integration | GRESB Strategy Support | ENERGY STAR & Fitwel Certification | Utility Data Automation | Emissions Reporting | Goby ESG Platform
Challenges They Faced
As sustainability demands grew from investors, regulators, and residents, Cortland faced several obstacles that limited progress:
- Fragmented Data Across the Portfolio: Utility, emissions, waste, and ESG indicators were stored across disparate systems, slowing analysis and increasing reporting risk.
- Manual, Time-Intensive Reporting Processes: Annual certification efforts (including ENERGY STAR) required extensive staff time and lacked scalable workflows.
- Limited Visibility Into ESG Risks & Opportunities: Without integrated data, aligning goals with industry expectations—particularly GRESB—was challenging.
- Growing Pressure for Transparency & Accuracy: Investors sought stronger disclosures, better risk assessments, and more consistent portfolio-wide reporting.
- Need for a Long-Term, Actionable Roadmap: Cortland aimed to prepare for net-zero commitments but lacked a unified system to track performance and measure progress.
These challenges underscored the need for a partner capable of simplifying data management, improving accuracy, and aligning ESG improvements with global standards.
Why Conservice?
Cortland selected Conservice to help evolve their ESG strategy because of Conservice’s ability to unify data, scale certifications, and simplify the path to GRESB improvement.
Conservice provided:
- Clean, verified ESG data across energy, water, waste, and GHG emissions
- Goby platform insights to monitor performance in real time
- Streamlined certification workflows for ENERGY STAR and Fitwel
- Automated processes that replaced manual tracking
- Portfolio-wide integration for both environmental and qualitative ESG indicators
Conservice became a strategic partner not just a data provider. Equipping Cortland with the systems, accuracy, and frameworks needed to meet investor expectations and accelerate sustainability impact.
Our Solution
Conservice helped Cortland shift from fragmented data and manual workflows to an ESG program driven by integrated systems, verified data, and scalable processes.
Comprehensive ESG Data Integration
Conservice unified utility and sustainability data across the entire portfolio—energy, water, waste, emissions, and all qualitative ESG indicators—into one centralized, decision-ready platform.
Enhanced ESG Indicators
Beyond utility usage, Conservice incorporated resident engagement programs, risk assessments, resilience planning, and certification tracking to capture a complete view of ESG performance.
Goby Platform Insights
Cortland used the Conservice Goby platform to monitor real-time performance, track emissions, and benchmark against long-term sustainability targets—enabling stronger annual improvements.
Certification at Scale
Conservice helped Cortland dramatically expand ENERGY STAR and Fitwel certifications by automating documentation, managing workflows, and ensuring accuracy in submissions.
Process Optimization & Automation
Previously manual ESG reporting was replaced with automated, repeatable processes, freeing internal teams to focus on strategy, planning, and innovation.
This integrated, technology-driven approach accelerated Cortland’s ESG evolution and positioned both funds for sustained improvement.
Results + Benefits
Thanks to Conservice’s expertise and data-driven systems, Cortland achieved measurable improvements across both investment funds.
Operational Transparency
Conservice enabled accurate, portfolio-wide visibility with 100% ESG data coverage for energy, water, and waste—an 80–78% improvement year-over-year.
Certification Growth
Cortland achieved 69 ENERGY STAR & Fitwel certifications in 2024, representing a 44% YoY increase and more than 20% portfolio certification.
Waste & Efficiency Gains
The waste-reduction pilot expanded recycling participation by 7% since 2022, while LED retrofits, HVAC upgrades, and water-efficiency initiatives improved overall operational performance.
GRESB Score Improvement
Cortland’s two funds achieved a combined 30-point increase in their 2024 GRESB scores—earning 5-star ratings for both funds.
- Fund A: +16 points in 2024, +51 points over 3 years
- Fund B: +14 points in 2024, +39 points over 3 years
Renewable Energy Progress
With Conservice’s Optimyze insights, Cortland executed renewable energy contracts that delivered:
- 2023: 1.85M kWh savings, valued at $174,000
- 2024: 15.8M kWh savings, valued at $699,000
Cortland’s ESG transformation demonstrates what is possible when clean, verified data is paired with strategic intent and the right partners. With support from Conservice, Cortland strengthened its reporting foundation, scaled sustainable operations, and accelerated progress toward long-term goals—including net-zero planning and enhanced investor engagement.
By embedding ESG into core operations, Cortland is redefining sustainability leadership in multifamily real estate—and their journey is just beginning.
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