Scope 3.8 - Definition & Requirements

Why Scope 3.8 "Upstream Leased Assets" matters

Your organization’s climate journey should encompass every part of your value chain – including the assets you lease and operate, but do not own.

Scope 3.8 captures the emissions that occur when you use assets (e.g., office buildings, warehouses, vehicles) that are owned by others.

These emissions, while sometimes overlooked, can be an important share of your footprint—especially for service-based or asset-light organizations. Taking responsibility for these indirect emissions, even when outside your “comfort zone,” demonstrates a commitment to true climate leadership, transparency, and compassionate stewardship of shared resources. By including these in your carbon accounting, you’re not only improving accuracy, but you’re also collaborating with asset owners (landlords, lessors), sending market signals for more sustainable practices, and acting towards ambitious climate goals.

What’s Included in Scope 3.8?

Operation of assets leased by your company (as lessee), where emissions are not already included in your Scope 1 or Scope 2 inventories.
- Examples: Office spaces, warehouses, retail shops, vehicles, equipment, production lines, leased data centers.
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions of the lessor (owner), when those emissions occur because of your company’s use of the asset.

Optional, for more advanced reporting: Lifecycle emissions from manufacturing or constructing the leased asset (e.g., embedded carbon in a leased office building).

Note: This category does NOT include:

Assets that are included in your organization's Scope 1 or Scope 2 via your selected accounting boundary (“control” or “equity share”).
Downstream leased assets (assets you own but lease to others—see Scope 3.13).

What Data Do You Need?

Depending on your data access and quality journey, you may use the following data sources and calculation approaches (from best to approximate):

1. Asset-specific data (High Quality)

Energy use (e.g., kWh electricity, m³ natural gas) for each leased location or vehicle, obtained via utility bills, submeter readings, or direct reporting from landlords.
Emissions data (Scope 1 and 2) directly provided by the lessor (if available), allocated to your organization (based on floor area, occupancy, usage time, etc.).
Timeframe – Ensure the data matches your reporting period and duration of the lease.

2. Lessor-specific Allocation (Medium Quality)

Total building or asset emissions from the lessor, allocated to your share (e.g., square meters occupied ÷ total floor area × total emissions).
For multi-tenant buildings, this is a common approach.

3. Average or Modeled Data (Minimum Quality)

Estimates based on typical energy use per square meter (office/warehouse) or per asset type, from recognized national/international databases or industry studies.
Use when specific data is unavailable.

What Should You Watch Out For?

Boundary consistency: Be clear on which leased assets are already included under your Scope 1/2 (based on your organization’s accounting boundary). Only include assets here that are not covered elsewhere.
Data allocation: For shared assets (buildings, vehicles), use reasonable, transparent allocation keys—usually physical space, usage time, or number of employees.
Data gaps: If you lack direct data, estimate transparently—and document your assumptions. Plan to improve data quality each year—“done is better than perfect, but better is always the goal for next year.”
Leased asset turnover: If your lease started or ended during the year, only account for your pro-rata share.
Confidentiality: Some landlords may have concerns; consider non-disclosure agreements or aggregated data to unlock collaboration.
Compassion and collaboration: Engage lessors constructively—explain your sustainability goals, and how their support benefits your shared climate impact.

Example of Data Needed

Asset Type	Data Points	Preferred Source	Example Allocation
Leased office	Electricity, natural gas use for your floor or suite	Utility bill, landlord reporting	m² occupied/building m²
Leased warehouse	Annual kWh/m³ natural gas/m² & occupancy time	Utility bill, meter	m² and usage period
Leased fleet	Fuel purchased / distance travelled (if not under Scope 1)	Fuel card records, lessor logbook	Usage share/period

Our Support for Your Quality Journey

Start where you are: It’s normal to begin with estimates based on spend or area and improve year by year. The goal is steady, just progress.
Feedback is a gift: If your lessor cannot provide data, ask what would make it easier next year. Offer positive feedback when they do.
Act sustainably: Remember, better data helps you push for greener buildings (renewable supply, efficiency upgrades), enlisting more partners in your climate action.
Be collaborative: Your care and empathy for partners recognises that many struggle with data, but joint progress is possible.

Summing Up: Checklist for Scope 3.8

Inventory all assets you lease for operations (not included under Scope 1/2).
Engage with lessors: Request energy/emissions data for your leased spaces/assets.
Allocate emissions appropriately for shared assets.
If precise data is unavailable, use standard databases/models and clearly document your assumptions.
Plan for data quality improvement and supplier engagement over time.
Report results with transparency, care, and a clear improvement plan.

Compassion Drives Climate Action

By including upstream leased assets, you’re not only meeting investor and regulatory expectations: you’re taking care—of our shared home and each other. Every conversation with a lessor, every improvement in data, and every efficiency project in a leased building makes a difference.

We at Global Changer stand with you, so you’re never alone in your journey.