URB-D.02.B - Energy Efficiency Time-Bound Targets
Does the company have time-bound targets to increase its energy efficiency?
About the data
The WBA Urban Benchmark measures and ranks the world's most influential companies on their efforts to shape sustainable, inclusive and resilient urban environments, tracking how companies address essential urban needs while respecting planetary boundaries across dimensions including decent work and human rights, environmental and climate impacts, social inclusion, and sustainability leadership. The 2026 edition assessed 300 companies across four key industries shaping urban environments: real estate, construction and engineering, transport, and utilities. Companies were scored on 24 urban-specific indicators plus 18 core social indicators, spanning four measurement areas: sustainable governance, inclusive cities, healthy cities, and climate change and resilient cities. The benchmark is designed to incentivise the private sector to take adequate responsibility for its role in ensuring affordable, safe and inclusive urban environments for all. More information can be found here.
Methodology
As contributors to 80% of the world’s GDP (The World Bank, 2023), urban areas require an
uninterrupted supply of energy to function. The high concentration of economic activities in urban
areas means they are also a major consumer of the global energy supply, consuming up to 75% of
global primary energy (UN-Habitat, 2023). Achieving sustainable urban development requires
prioritising energy efficiency across all urban assets, transport infrastructures and service provision,
while also embracing the broader energy transition towards cleaner, renewable energy sources. Urban
companies should align their strategies with global decarbonisation goals and foster the adoption of
renewable energy and technologies contributing to both energy efficiency and the energy transition.
Research Guidance
The company must disclose at least one of the following types of targets:
Reducing energy consumption
Increasing the proportion of renewable energy use
Improving energy efficiency
Note: Targets aimed at maintaining energy consumption levels are not accepted.
Targets must be timebound and include the baseline value and base year from which progress is measured.
Targets must have clear, quantitative, and measurable metrics.
Targets must be short-term (now to 2030). Longer term targets (i.e. those with an end date past 2030) are only accepted if they are broken down into interim targets, that are 5 years away or less.
The target must cover all of the company's operations.
For Real Estate companies, the company should set targets that not only cover its own operations but also portfolio, managed or operating properties.
The targets must be clearly relevant to the company's operations, core businesses, or products and services.
The target must refer to absolute emissions reductions. Intensity targets are accepted if they can lead to absolute improvements.
uninterrupted supply of energy to function. The high concentration of economic activities in urban
areas means they are also a major consumer of the global energy supply, consuming up to 75% of
global primary energy (UN-Habitat, 2023). Achieving sustainable urban development requires
prioritising energy efficiency across all urban assets, transport infrastructures and service provision,
while also embracing the broader energy transition towards cleaner, renewable energy sources. Urban
companies should align their strategies with global decarbonisation goals and foster the adoption of
renewable energy and technologies contributing to both energy efficiency and the energy transition.
Research Guidance
The company must disclose at least one of the following types of targets:
Reducing energy consumption
Increasing the proportion of renewable energy use
Improving energy efficiency
Note: Targets aimed at maintaining energy consumption levels are not accepted.
Targets must be timebound and include the baseline value and base year from which progress is measured.
Targets must have clear, quantitative, and measurable metrics.
Targets must be short-term (now to 2030). Longer term targets (i.e. those with an end date past 2030) are only accepted if they are broken down into interim targets, that are 5 years away or less.
The target must cover all of the company's operations.
For Real Estate companies, the company should set targets that not only cover its own operations but also portfolio, managed or operating properties.
The targets must be clearly relevant to the company's operations, core businesses, or products and services.
The target must refer to absolute emissions reductions. Intensity targets are accepted if they can lead to absolute improvements.
License
Topics
Framework Mappings
Value Type
Category
Options
Yes
No
Assessment
Steward Assessed
Report Type
Aggregate Data Report