Your company may rent offices, warehouses, vehicles or machines instead of owning them. Where their emissions go depends on how you set your company's boundary. If they are not already in your Scope 1 and 2, the GHG Protocol puts them in Scope 3 category 8.
- Scope 3 category 8, upstream leased assets: emissions from running the assets that you lease and that are not in Scopes 1 and 2.
- For lessees only: if your company leases its assets to others, they belong to category 13.
- Methods: asset-specific, lessor-specific and average-data.
- Reduction: check the data of the assets you lease and choose options with lower emissions.
What does category 8 include?
Category 8 covers emissions from running the assets that your company leased in the reporting year. It includes only those that are not in Scope 1 or Scope 2.
This category applies only to companies that use leased assets, called lessees. Some companies own assets and lease them to others. These are lessors, and category 13 (downstream leased assets) covers their assets.
For which companies does category 8 matter?
Category 8 matters mainly if you set your company's boundary by financial control or by equity share. These are two of the three ways that the GHG Protocol allows.
Calculation methods
You can calculate category 8 emissions with three methods:
- Asset-specific method: for each leased asset, you collect data on the energy and fuel it used, or on its Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
- Lessor-specific method: you get Scope 1 and 2 data from the owner of the asset and link it to the right asset.
- Average-data method: you estimate emissions for each asset, or group of assets, from average data. Examples are average emissions per type of asset or per square metre.
Where do you find the data for this category?
You can find the data for this category in:
- utility bills;
- records of what you buy;
- meter readings;
- your own IT systems.
What are the main challenges in category 8?
The main challenge is to decide where leased assets belong. The answer depends on how you set your company's boundary. With operational control, many leased assets are already in your Scopes 1 and 2.
How to reduce emissions in Scope 3 category 8?
Look at the data for the assets you lease and think about options with lower emissions. Try to replace assets with high emissions with assets that have none.
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