Realigning Scope classification for landlord-controlled tenant space emissions

Beginning in 2026, the GRESB Real Estate Standard will realign scope classification for emissions from landlord-controlled tenant spaces, as announced in the 2026 Real Estate Standard Updates released in October.

At present, these emissions are treated as Scope 3 because they occur within tenant-dedicated areas. However, under the GHG Protocol, scope boundaries are determined by operational control—who has the authority to introduce and implement operating policies.

This misalignment has created persistent confusion, forced participants to reconcile conflicting scope treatments across frameworks, and diluted incentives for owners to decarbonize systems they control.

Under the new rule, emissions from landlord-controlled tenant spaces will be reported as Scope 1 and 2. 

This adjustment aligns GRESB with the GHG Protocol, PCAF, CRREM, and EPRA guidance; restores clear accountability; and improves traceability between energy and GHG data—while keeping GRESB’s data-quality standards unchanged.

Only around 9% of assets include floor area classified as landlord-controlled tenant space. Impact modeling shows the scoring effects will be minimal for nearly all participants.

GRESB’s previous floor-area rule treated all tenant-dedicated space as Scope 3, regardless of who controlled energy procurement or operation. This conflicted with the GHG Protocol’s control-based approach, which attributes emissions to the entity capable of influencing them.

The result: inconsistent disclosures across frameworks, reconciliation headaches, and weaker decarbonization incentives for landlords operating central plants, building-automation systems, or temperature setpoints.

Stakeholders including GRESB participants and data partners alike emphasized the challenges of the previous mapping: 

• Misalignment with other standards → resolved through GHG Protocol alignment. 
• Scope confusion for vacancy and pass-through areas → vacant space will now default to landlord Scope 1–2. 
• Metering vs. allocation challenges → clarified that submetering aids precision but is not required for classification. 
• Weak incentives → landlords now get credit for decarbonization within systems they operate. 

• Consistency: Brings GRESB fully in line with leading carbon-accounting frameworks.
• Integrity: Ensures no “orphan” emissions—all energy use (and corresponding emissions) is claimed by either landlord or tenant.
• Transparency: Links GRESB’s energy and GHG sections directly, simplifying analysis of carbon hotspots.
• Efficiency: Reduces reconciliation workload and improves comparability for both participants and investors.

This realignment should be viewed not as a new methodology but as a correction that brings GRESB’s framework back into logical alignment with international standards. While it may cause a one-year step-change in reported scopes, it ultimately enhances the long-term reliability and usefulness of GRESB data—ensuring that emissions are measured where real operational control, and therefore the ability to decarbonize, truly lies.