Release Notes 1.17

Release Notes 1.17

November 2023

Quick Access Menu

• SIERA Security Upgrades
• What is SIERA Authentication?
• What is Single Sign-On (SSO)?
• Carbon Scope Breakdown: Enhanced Fund Performance
• Landlord & Tenant Energy Data: Insightful Fund Performance
• Data Exports: Fund Level
• Grid Decarbonisation: Impact on Net Zero
• Energy Intensity: Export Graph Images
• Asset Target Pathways: Instant Action Impacts
• Missing Data Projections: Comprehensive Fund Performance
• NEW Net Zero Carbon Support Guide

SIERA Security Upgrades

The SIERA Team has introduced two new security upgrades.

1. We've enhanced your SIERA Authentication for improved data security.

2. We've added the option to upgrade to Single Sign-On (SSO) for an improved user experience.

What is SIERA Authentication?

Keep an eye on your Email Inbox for a Personalised Email inviting you to Authenticate your SIERA account. Inside the email, you’ll discover a unique SIERA URL linked to your existing account, alongside instructions on what to do next.

For more details, read our SIERA Authentication Guide: Existing SIERA Users.

What is Single Sign-On (SSO)?

Single Sign-On is an authentication process that enables you to access multiple applications or services using a single of credentials, typically your corporate username and password. While optional, SSO offers a fantastic way to streamline your user experience by eliminating the need to remember different login credentials for multiple systems.

What’s the benefit of SSO?

• Simplified User Experience: once you’ve logged in to your corporate network, you're all set to access SIERA. No more credentials are needed. It’s simple and saves time.
• Authorised Access and Secured Data: Internally, SSO enables your IT team to centrally manage your authorised user access to SIERA. The result? Reduced risk of sensitive data breaches for added peace of mind. Externally, SSO empowers EVORA’s IT team to centrally grant or revoke user access to SIERA according to role and responsibility. This additional measure reduces the risk of unauthorised access to your sensitive data.
• Robust Protection: SSO incorporates multi-factor authentication (MFA), adding an extra layer of protection. This means that even if your corporate credentials are compromised, an attacker would still need additional verification, such as mobile app codes, to access your SIERA account.
• ISO 27001 Compliance: SSO enables EVORA to meet a globally recognised standard for information security management systems. By adopting SSO, we align with ISO 27001 requirements for user access control, authentication, and authorisation. This guarantees that your data is managed securely and in accordance with stringent compliance standards.

Carbon Scope Breakdown: Enhanced Fund Performance

• What is it? SIERA’s new Carbon Scope Breakdown feature enables you to analyse the carbon emissions of your funds in more detail. We employ a scope breakdown methodology aligned with Operational Control, adhering to the GHG protocol and PCAF standards.

• Why is it important? It’s crucial to understand Scopes 1, 2, and 3 for effective climate disclosures. Organisations must report direct (Scope 1), indirect energy-related (Scope 2), and other upstream/downstream emissions (Scope 3) to demonstrate the environmental impact of their investments.

• Who benefits? Our new feature empowers fund managers to disclose the carbon footprint of portfolio assets, promoting transparent decision-making for sustainable investments and net-zero funds.

• How to use it? Simply choose Carbon and select the Scope 1, 2, or 3 option from the dropdown menus displayed on your Fund Performance page.

• What it reveals? Each Scope bar includes two types of data: actual data and gap-filled data. The colours on the bar enable you to quickly grasp the proportion of each data type, making it easy to understand at a glance.

Landlord & Tenant Energy Data Split: Insightful Fund Performance

• What is it? On your Fund Performance page, you can already display your Electricity, Gas, Fuels & Thermals, Water, and Waste data. Now, you have the added ability to separate your Electricity, Gas, Fuels & Thermals, and Water data (not Waste) into Landlord or Tenant categories.
• Why is it important? This feature is crucial for understanding the proportion assigned to the Landlord or the Tenant, offering a clearer insight into your Energy and Water usage. Each Landlord and Tenant bar also indicates the proportion of actual data and gap-filled data, helping you identify the primary sources of usage for each utility.
• How to use it? Simply select the Landlord box or the Tenant box from the dropdown menus to display each bar individually. Alternatively, select both boxes to view each category side by side.
• Note: If a tenant-space meter is situated in a Landlord-controlled asset, the data will be allocated to the Tenant bar.

Data Exports: Fund Level

• What’s new? Now, exporting data at the Fund level is clearer. You can easily see the difference between consumption or emissions with and without gap-filled data. Separate sections highlight this difference.

• What’s next? In the next SIERA release, we’ll expand this feature to all levels, making it simple to track consumption or emissions' gap-filling at the meter level.

• What’s changing now? Starting with this release (1.17), the ability to export Performance data from an individual Asset page is temporarily removed for updates. However, you can still export data from your Assets page, enabling you to get information for multiple assets at once.

Grid Decarbonisation: Impact on Net Zero

• What is it? Grid Decarbonisation impact on your Net Zero Carbon graph is now isolated to the current reporting year, unlinking from previous years.

• Why is it important? This update provides a clear separation between reporting periods, enhancing overall clarity.

Energy Intensity: Export Graph Images

• What is it? Now, you can export PNG images for your Energy Intensity graphs, similar to Carbon Intensity.
• Why is it important? This feature simplifies the inclusion of Energy Intensity graphs in external reports.

Asset Target Pathways: Instant Action Impacts

• What is it? Now, you can add, change, or remove Actions, and instantly view their impact on your Net Zero Carbon graph.

• Why is it important? This enables you to quickly understand how your Actions will influence your Net Zero Carbon Targets and Pathways.

Missing Data Projections: Comprehensive Fund Performance

• What is it? SIERA employs an industry-leading gap-filling approach, offering a comprehensive overview of your projected Fund Performance.
• Why is it important? This enhances data projections for your Assets and Funds, especially when your Actual data is missing for Carbon, Electricity, Gas, Fuels & Thermals, and Water (Waste elimination is not available).
• How to use it? On the Asset and Performance pages, estimated data is now available when actual data is missing. Hover over the Performance chart for a summary pop-up box.

• How to use it? The Assets page now displays estimates for missing data on utility summary cards. Each card shows the percentage of data that's been gap-filled.

• What it reveals? The Performance page now displays a summary of the percentage of gap-filled data. Hover over the bars to view the specific percentage of gap-filled data for each month.

NEW Net Zero Carbon Support Guide

Striving for Net Zero by 2050? SIERA guides your journey. Explore our BRAND NEW Net Zero Carbon Guide to find out how. It covers Action-Based and Target Pathways, Business as Usual Stranding, Grid Decarbonisation, Carbon Intensity, Energy Intensity, and much more.

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