Office landlords and REITs
Twelve tenants, twelve templates, and every one wants it split their way.
Carbon accounting for real estate: tenant emissions, embodied carbon and BRSR Core
Every tenant wants their number. Send it before they ask.
Your tenants report Scope 3. Give them a number they can file.
Who are you?
ENERGY AND EMISSIONS STATEMENTTech park, Block 4 · FY 2025-26
Ref.
EES-B4-014
EES-B4-014
- Leasable area
- 10,00,000 sq ft
- Electricity
- 1,26,00,000 kWh
- Green open access
- 69%
- Grid factor
- CEA v22, 0.675
- Market-based
- 2,637 t
- Location-based
- 8,505 t
- Intensity, market
- 2.64 kg/sq ft
Reconciles
Example. Illustrative building and figures.
The short answer
How do landlords give tenants their carbon emissions?
Add each tenant’s sub-metered electricity to its share of shared plant, split by leased area. Multiply by the grid factor for location-based Scope 2, and by your contracted supply for market-based. Every tenant’s share, plus vacant space, must add back to the building total.
Last verified 3 October 2026. Sources at the end.
Same buildings. Same meters.
98,114 t or 353,313 t, depending on how you count.
One listed Indian office REIT’s FY 2026 Scope 2 for its standing assets: 98,114 t market-based, 353,313 t location-based, with renewables at 69% of its energy mix. A tenant who copies the wrong one misreports by 3.6 times.
Sound familiar?
Developers
The assurer wants our BRSR Core numbers traced. Sales wants a green tag on the brochure.
Occupiers and their ESG teams
Group wants India’s leased-space emissions by Friday. Our landlord sent a green building plaque.
Paraphrased from the way tenant and investor requests reach landlords and developers.
Split the building, keep the total.
One block, four tenants, one set of shared chillers. Split it so every number adds back.
Free embodied carbon calculator
The carbon you pour on day one.
Set built-up area, steel, cement and energy use. See embodied carbon, and how many years of operations it equals.
0
How this is worked out
- Steel: India average 2.54 t CO2 a tonne of crude steel (Mercom, secondary source). Green steel below 2.2 (PIB, December 2024).
- Cement: PPC 0.71, OPC 0.996 t CO2e a tonne, from one published Indian developer baseline. Use your supplier’s EPD.
- Steel and cement per sq ft are illustrative design values. Replace them with your BOQ.
- Operations: kWh per sq ft × 0.675 t CO2 per MWh (CEA v22), less your renewable share. 12.6 kWh per sq ft reflects a large Indian office portfolio.
- Steel and cement only, A1 to A3. Aluminium, glass and finishes add more.
- Scenario tool. It isn’t a whole-life assessment.
Why now
Who’s asking, and by when.
1 Oct 2026
GRESB results out
The 2026 GRESB results reached investors. Tenant data coverage feeds next year’s score.
20,000 m²
Ratings, proposed
A June 2026 draft rule would make new office, commercial and residential buildings of 20,000 m² or more get a green rating and file energy data with BEE.
Top 1,000
BRSR Core checked
From FY 2026-27, the top 1,000 listed companies need BRSR Core assessed or assured.
kg CO₂e/m²
Embodied carbon asked
ECSBC 2024 sets a voluntary format for commercial buildings to report A1 to A3 embodied carbon from the BOQ.
Answer the tenant with a number.
An occupier’s request to its landlord. Same question, two answers.
Lease_Data_Request_FY26.xlsxSheet: Energy · Block 4
Request 2 For 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, give the energy attributable to our leased premises at Block 4, split by grid, DG and renewable supply, with the factor and method for location-based and market-based Scope 2, and evidence for any renewable claims.
Wording modelled on occupier data requests.
- Keep the tenant. Send their number before their group asks them.
- Lift the GRESB score. Tenant data coverage counts.
Straight answer: India has no published residual mix yet, so market-based numbers treat green open access as zero and the rest at the grid average. We say so on every pack. For an EPD-backed whole-building assessment, you’ll still need a verified study.
What you get
Three files, one dataset.
For tenants
A tenant pack per lease
kWh and CO2e by both methods, the allocation sheet and the evidence, in each tenant’s template.
For assurers and investors
BRSR Core and GRESB tables
Plus an embodied carbon sheet from your BOQ, in the ECSBC format.
How it works
From the meter room to the tenant pack.
Carbon-OS reads meters, bills, open access invoices and your BOQ. The same data runs tenant packs, BRSR Core and GRESB.
Connect
Meters, bills, open access invoices, the BOQ.
Map
Owned, leased, shared plant and vacant space.
Allocate
Both Scope 2 methods, tenant by tenant.
Publish
Tenant packs, BRSR Core tables, GRESB inputs.
Method and boundary
- Boundary
- GHG Protocol, operational control. Equity share on request.
- Scope 2
- Location-based at CEA v22. Market-based from open access and certificate evidence.
- Leased space
- Landlord: Scope 3 category 13. Occupier: category 8, where it isn’t in its Scope 1 or 2.
- Shared plant
- By sub-meter first, then by leased area. Vacant share stays with the landlord.
- Embodied
- A1 to A3 for structure and envelope, in the ECSBC 2024 format.
- Disclosure
- BRSR Core energy and GHG intensity. GRESB energy and GHG data.
- Factors
- More than a million emission factors, with supplier EPDs first.
Glossary
Eight terms, in plain words.
- Location-based
- Scope 2 at the average grid factor, whatever power you bought.
- Market-based
- Scope 2 that reflects the power you contracted, like green open access.
- Category 8
- A tenant’s emissions from leased space not already in its Scope 1 or 2.
- Category 13
- A landlord’s emissions from space it leases to others, not already in its Scope 1 or 2.
- Embodied carbon
- Emissions from making a building’s materials, before anyone moves in.
- A1 to A3
- Cradle to factory gate: raw material, transport to the factory, manufacturing.
- Green lease
- A lease with shared energy, water and data commitments.
- GRESB
- An annual ESG benchmark for real estate funds and REITs.
Where are you today?
Three questions. Your first steps.
See where we'd start with you.
Who asks you for carbon data most?
How do you answer a tenant today?
What do you own?
Questions landlords ask.
Do tenants need emissions data from landlords?
Yes, if they report Scope 3. Leased space falls under category 8 when it isn’t in their Scope 1 or 2. They need your kWh and method.
Should landlords give tenants location-based or market-based numbers?
Both. One listed Indian office REIT’s FY 2026 standing assets came to 353,313 t location-based and 98,114 t market-based.
Which grid factor should Indian buildings use?
CEA’s CO2 Baseline Database v22 gives 0.675 t CO2 per MWh for 2025-26. Use the latest version for your reporting year.
Is embodied carbon reporting mandatory in India?
Not yet. ECSBC 2024, Appendix A6, sets a voluntary A1 to A3 format for commercial buildings, in kg CO2e per m², built from your BOQ.
Will green building ratings become mandatory?
A June 2026 Ministry of Power draft proposes it for new buildings of 20,000 m² or more. It isn’t final yet.
What minimum rating would the draft accept?
BEE 3 Star, GRIHA 3 Star, IGBC Gold, LEED Gold or GEM-3. A BEE Star Rating for commercial and office buildings would last ten years.
Does BRSR Core apply to listed developers?
Yes, if they’re in the top 1,000 by market cap. Assessment or assurance is required from FY 2026-27.
How much embodied carbon is in an Indian building?
One published Indian baseline puts typical buildings at 350 to 550 kg CO2e per m² for all materials. Concrete, steel and aluminium make up over two-thirds.
What counts as green steel in India?
Under the Green Steel Taxonomy, below 2.2 t CO2e per tonne of finished steel. Below 1.6 earns five stars.
Can a building buy renewable power directly?
Yes. The Green Energy Open Access Rules 2022 allow it from 100 kW of contracted demand.
Does GRESB cover data centres?
Yes. GRESB published data centre guidance in 2026, covering electricity, emissions, efficiency and water.
How do you split shared plant between tenants?
By sub-meter where you have one, then by leased area. The vacant share stays with the landlord, so the total always reconciles.
Bring one block’s meter data. We’ll build the tenant pack.
Twenty minutes. Your meters, your tenants, your supply. You leave with a split that adds up.
Book the 20-minute callor write to carbon-os@climes.io
Sources
- Mercom India, Green Steel Taxonomy: India average 2.54 t CO2 a tonne of crude steel
- Embassy Office Parks REIT, ESG Report 2025-26: location 353,313 t against market 98,114 t; 69% renewable; 0.045 GJ per sq ft
- Ministry of Power, draft notification, June 2026: mandatory ratings, 20,000 m², proposed
- BEE, ECSBC 2024: embodied carbon reporting format
- SEBI circular, 28 March 2025: BRSR Core to the top 1,000
- GRESB key dates: 2026 results on 1 October
- GRESB, May 2026 update: data centre guidance
- PIB, Green Steel Taxonomy: 2.2, 2.0 and 1.6 bands
- GHG Protocol Scope 3 Calculation Guidance: categories 8 and 13
- Green Energy Open Access Rules 2022: 100 kW
- CEA CO2 Baseline Database, version 22: grid 0.675
Facts on this page last verified 3 October 2026. Interactive figures are illustrative unless a source is named.