GRESB Building Certification Evaluation

September 2026 Update: The certification tracker has been updated to clearly distinguish between certification brands that have completed the brand-level review, those currently under review by GRESB, and those that have not yet submitted. The scoring methodology for building certifications will also change as part of the 2028 GRESB Real Estate Standard in response to public consultation feedback, with the latest position set out in section 3.6 ‘Reassess Building Certifications’ of the consultation findings report. 

GRESB’s Building Certification Evaluation Criteria provide an industry-accepted, globally applicable framework to evaluate the quality of building certifications. The criteria, published in December 2024, were developed through industry engagement to reflect current investor expectations for building certifications.

The criteria cover high-level brand (governance, process, transparency) and more detailed scheme-level (scope and stringency) requirements. Certification bodies are required to demonstrate alignment with the criteria for a certification scheme to be recognized in future versions of the GRESB Real Estate Standard.

The updated criteria replace the historic minimum criteria, which were retired in June 2025.

The evaluation is a two-stage process, with the brand-level review currently available to certification bodies and the scheme-level review available later in 2026.

Certification bodies are required to submit short statements and provide supporting evidence in response to the updated criteria. GRESB will review the information submitted to determine an evaluation outcome. An offline version of the survey is available in PDF here to help certification bodies prepare their submission.

Submissions will only be accepted from certification bodies—the entity responsible for overseeing and administering various certification schemes—given that the nature of information required relates to internal policies and practices.

Further detailed instructions and the full survey are available here:

The current list of recognized building certification schemes will remain in place through the 2027 GRESB Real Estate Standard. An updated list, based on the evaluation process underway, will take effect with the 2028 GRESB Real Estate Standard.

• The current list of recognized certification schemes will continue to be valid for the 2026 and 2027 GRESB Real Estate Standards. This list of recognized schemes is effectively frozen and no further changes are anticipated.
• An updated list of recognized certification schemes will be implemented in the 2028 GRESB Real Estate Standard. Certification bodies are required to demonstrate alignment with the updated evaluation criteria by December 2027.

The evaluation process currently underway will result in an updated list of GRESB-recognized certification schemes due to be implemented in the 2028 GRESB Standard. 

The tracker below shows the latest status of all certification brands progressing through the evaluation process. It will be updated monthly.

Latest update: September 16

Status key:

• Brand review complete—GRESB has completed its review of the brand submission.
• Under review—GRESB has received the brand submission, and its review is in progress.
• Awaiting submission—GRESB has not yet received the brand submission.

Please check this page for ongoing updates on GRESB’s building certification evaluation process. For any questions, comments, or feedback, please email [email protected].

Background

• July 2026: GRESB published findings from the Road to Performance public consultation, which ran from February to April 2026 and included a dedicated section on building certifications.
• June 2025: GRESB launched the building certification evaluation process with brand-level survey for certification bodies to respond to.
• December 2024: GRESB announced revised criteria for building certifications– see news article.
• March 2024: GRESB announced a public consultation on building certifications – see news article.

Please check this page for ongoing updates on GRESB’s building certification evaluation process. For any questions, comments, or feedback, please email [email protected].