Updated PCAF Standard 2025: new opportunities for higher data quality scores in real estate emissions reporting

The updated PCAF Standard brings an important clarification for financial institutions reporting financed emissions from real estate portfolios. The update provides new guidance on the application of Data Quality Score (DQS) 3, opening the door to higher data quality in markets where formal energy labelling frameworks are limited or absent.

What has changed in the PCAF Standard?

The updated PCAF Standard (Part A, 2025) introduces an important clarification for financial institutions reporting financed emissions from real estate portfolios. Under the updated guidance, DQS 3 can be applied where no official energy labelling system exists, provided a robust and standardised alternative methodology is used. This clarification is explicitly anchored in the Standard and creates new opportunities to increase data quality score in markets or asset classes that have historically fallen outside formal energy-label frameworks.

How does it affect reporting? 

In practice, the update means that the application of DQS 3 now depends not only on data availability but also on the presence or absence of an official methodology. This distinction becomes particularly relevant in markets where energy labelling coverage, such as EPCs, Green Mark and NABERS, is limited.

Implications in different geographies

At CFP Green Buildings, we’ve been closely analysing how this update translates across different geographies. Local energy performance and labelling frameworks vary significantly between countries, and in some cases even within a single market,  which means that applying DQS 3 requires careful interpretation and transparent documentation.

The Green Buildings Tool as a robust and standardised alternative methodology

In line with the updated Standard, the Green Buildings Tool can support DQS 3 reporting as a standardised alternative methodology in markets where no official energy performance framework exists, as well as in situations where specific asset classes fall outside the scope of existing frameworks. This broadens the applicability of DQS 3 and enables higher data quality scores in PCAF reporting across a wider range of geographies and asset types, without additional client data requests.

Want to know what this means for your portfolio?

If you’re exploring how the PCAF update affects your reporting approach, we’re happy to discuss how this can be applied in your specific context.