C-DASH

Center for Data Analytics for Sustainable Habitat

Evidence-based monitoring, analytics, and dashboards to close the data gap in buildings, energy, water, and waste across the developing world.

The Challenge

Buildings generate more than a third of global energy-related CO₂ emissions.¹ Yet across India, sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia, and the Middle East, governments lack the disaggregated data needed to set baselines, track progress, or direct investment.²

The gap extends beyond energy. Water consumption, solid-waste generation, and indoor environmental quality are estimated rather than measured in most developing-country cities.³ Without robust data infrastructure, climate accountability remains aspirational.⁴

Buildings & Energy

No standardised method to measure operational energy across diverse building stocks.

Water

Consumption and reuse data are fragmented, making basin-level planning unreliable.

Waste

Generation and diversion rates are estimated, not measured, in most cities.

Indoor Environment

Air quality and thermal comfort go unmonitored in the majority of occupied buildings.

Our Approach

C-DASH builds the evidence base that the net-zero transition depends on. The centre combines continuous monitoring, open data, and institutional partnerships to turn raw measurements into actionable intelligence.⁵

Evidence-Based Monitoring

Deploying sensor networks and structured surveys to collect granular, real-time data on energy, water, air quality, and waste across building typologies.

Open Data

Every C-DASH dataset is freely accessible. Transparency accelerates research, strengthens public trust, and enables independent verification of climate claims.

Research Partnerships

Collaborating with universities, governments, and multilateral bodies to expand geographic coverage and analytical rigour — from India to sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia, and the Middle East.

Key Programs

From real-time dashboards to building-level energy passports, C-DASH programs create the data infrastructure that climate policy requires.

NEEM Dashboard

National Energy End-use Monitoring

Real-time residential energy-consumption data visualised by climate zone, city, household size, and building type. NEEM provides the empirical foundation for appliance and building-efficiency policy in India.⁶

IAQ Dashboard

Indoor Air Quality

Live indoor air-quality monitoring across buildings, tracking PM2.5, PM10, CO₂, temperature, and humidity. The data inform ventilation standards and occupant-health research.

BEP-EMIS

Building Energy Passport & Energy Management Information System

A verifiable energy-performance baseline for every building — the equivalent of a financial audit, for energy. BEP-EMIS creates the data layer that benchmarking mandates and carbon-trading mechanisms require.

Explore Our Data

Interactive Analytics

Charts and analysis spanning building energy performance, air quality, code compliance, and construction trends — drawn from C-DASH datasets.

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Work With Our Data

For data partnerships, research collaboration, or access to C-DASH datasets, get in touch.

Get in Touch

Sources & References

1.UNEP, 'Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction,' 2024. Buildings account for 37 per cent of global energy-related CO₂ emissions, yet most developing countries lack the granular data needed to track progress toward decarbonisation targets.
2.IEA, 'Tracking Buildings,' 2024. Reliable, disaggregated building-energy data remain scarce across South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia, and the Middle East, limiting the ability to set baselines and measure outcomes.
3.World Bank, 'What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050,' 2018. Without consistent monitoring, waste-generation estimates for low- and middle-income countries carry uncertainty margins above 50 per cent.
4.IPCC, AR6 Working Group III, 'Mitigation of Climate Change,' 2022. The report identifies data infrastructure as a precondition for effective climate policy in the built environment.
5.UNESCO, 'Open Science Recommendation,' 2021. Open data accelerates research, strengthens public trust, and enables evidence-based policymaking in resource-constrained settings.
6.IEA, 'India Energy Outlook 2021.' India's building-sector energy demand is projected to grow by 70 per cent by 2040, making real-time monitoring essential for course correction.