Scope 3 for Real Estate: Which Categories First

A practical prioritization guide: pick the first 2–4 categories that matter and are feasible

Scope 3, Made PracticalGuide30 min

What you'll accomplish

  • Understand which Scope 3 categories are most relevant to real estate
  • Prioritize 2-4 categories based on materiality and data feasibility
  • Create a focused action plan instead of boiling the ocean
  • Document your prioritization rationale

Category groups for real estate

High priority (start here)

Usually material and feasible for most real estate organizations

  • Cat 1Purchased goods & services (vendors)
  • Cat 2Capital goods (construction, equipment)
  • Cat 13Downstream leased assets (tenant emissions)

Medium priority

Material for some business models

  • Cat 3Fuel & energy-related (T&D losses, well-to-tank)
  • Cat 5Waste generated in operations
  • Cat 8Upstream leased assets (if you're a tenant)

Lower priority initially

Often smaller or harder to measure

  • Cat 4Upstream transportation
  • Cat 6/7Business travel / employee commuting
  • Cat 9Downstream transportation

By business model

Owner-operator (landlord)

Focus on Cat 1, Cat 2, Cat 13. Tenant data is critical.

Tenant (corporate occupier)

Focus on Cat 8, Cat 1, Cat 5. Know your lease boundaries.

Developer

Focus on Cat 2 (construction), Cat 1 (materials). Embodied carbon matters.

Fund / REIT

Focus on Cat 13 across portfolio. Data collection at scale.

Decision matrix

Score each category on two dimensions:

Materiality

How big is this category likely to be? (High/Medium/Low)

Data feasibility

Can you get the data within 90 days? (High/Medium/Low)

Start with categories that are High/High or High/Medium.

Change log

v1.0 (2026-01): Latest release