Preparing for 2027: Key Changes to Renewable Electricity Reporting and RECs Under GRI 102 and GRI 103

Global Reporting Initiative‘s new topic standards – GRI 102: Climate Change 2025 and GRI 103: Energy 2025 take effect on 1 January 2027, replacing the energy and emissions disclosures companies have used since 2016.

For companies procuring renewable electricity through Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs), also known as RECs, this is good news. Certificates are now named directly in the standards, and their role in market-based Scope 2 reporting is clearer than it has ever been. What comes with that recognition is a higher bar on explanation.

At Monsoon, where we support corporate buyers with REC procurement across Asia and globally, we’ve gone through both standards to pull out what actually affects your renewable electricity strategy.

What’s Changing, and When

The new standards apply to reports published on or after 1 January 2027, not to reporting periods starting then. A FY2026 report published in early 2027 already falls under the new rules, which means the procurement decisions behind it are being made now. Early adoption is encouraged.

• GRI 302: Energy 2016 – fully replaced by GRI 103
• GRI 305: Emissions 2016 – its GHG disclosures (305-1 to 305-5) replaced by GRI 102; its air emissions disclosures remain
• GRI 201-2 – moves into GRI 102’s climate adaptation disclosure

RECs Are Now Explicitly Mentioned in the Standard

The 2016 standards left contractual instruments largely implied. GRI 103 names them: energy attribute certificates (EACs), renewable electricity certificates (RECs), power purchase agreements and green electricity products are all listed as instruments that substantiate the renewable share of purchased electricity.

They also appear at policy level. Purchasing contractual instruments is given as an example of an energy-related policy supporting the transition to renewable sources, alongside energy efficiency and suppliers’ use of renewable energy.

You Must Describe How Your Certificates Meet Quality Criteria

This is the most direct new obligation for REC buyers. If you use contractual instruments to report purchased electricity consumption, you must describe how those instruments adhere to quality criteria to ensure accuracy and consistency.

The criteria come from the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance and will be familiar:

• Unique attribute and claim: the certificate is the sole claim on that unit of generation
• Tracking and retirement: tracked and cancelled in a recognised registry, by or on behalf of the reporting organisation
• Temporal alignment: issued and redeemed as close as possible to the consumption period
• Market boundary: sourced from the same market where the electricity is applied

GRI 102 repeats these four and adds two aimed at utilities and grid operators, covering utility-specific emission factors and the residual mix.

Under GRI 302 and 305, certificate quality was effectively an internal procurement matter. From 2027 it becomes published narrative. Nothing here rejects a certificate, but weaker instruments now get explained in public.

You’ll Report a Procurement Mix

Both standards recommend that companies report which types of instrument they use (power purchase agreements, utility green tariffs, unbundled certificates) and the amount and percentage of total purchased electricity each one covers.

Companies are also expected to clarify whether renewable electricity figures come from grid-average (location-based) data or contractual instruments (market-based data), and to describe the grid mix in the market where electricity is purchased.

Both Scope 2 Figures Stay and Targets Must State Their Method

GRI 102 requires gross location-based Scope 2 emissions, with market-based reported where applicable. Dual reporting continues, and certificates do not move the location-based number.

For every gross Scope 2 emissions reduction target, companies must state whether the target uses the location-based or market-based method. Where a market-based target is set, the Scope 2 quality criteria apply to the instruments behind it.

Energy Reporting Now Reaches Your Suppliers

Companies must report significant energy consumption in their upstream and downstream value chain, listing the categories where it occurs. The guidance recommends splitting that consumption between renewable and non-renewable sources, and flagging where figures are estimated rather than sourced from suppliers directly.

Your suppliers’ energy mix now appears in your report. For buyers with manufacturing or logistics in Asia, Africa or Latin America, that makes supplier renewable procurement a reporting issue rather than a nice-to-have. RECs are the simplest and most accessible way to engage your suppliers to procure renewable electricity.

Reporting Goes Beyond Numbers

Companies are now expected to explain not only how much energy they use, but also their energy policies, commitments and targets, their transition plan, and the impacts of their energy use and renewable transition on people, the environment and the economy.

GRI 102 names renewable energy procurement targets as a valid example of a fossil fuel phase-out target, with progress reported against it.

Summary of Key Changes for REC Buyers

Final Thoughts

GRI’s new standards don’t change what RECs do. They make the expectations around them explicit — which instruments you hold, how well they stand up, what share of your load they cover, and what your suppliers are doing. Companies with well-documented, properly cancelled certificates from eligible projects will find the new disclosures straightforward. Those with loosely sourced volumes will find the gaps harder to leave unexplained.

The insights here reflect our research on how RECs relate to reporting frameworks; for detailed GRI implementation guidance, companies should consult sustainability reporting experts.

It’s Time to Re-Evaluate Your REC Strategy

With the 2027 effective date coming up fast, now is the perfect time to map out your REC procurement.

Monsoon Carbon specialize in helping corporate buyers navigate environmental commodity markets across emerging regions. Whether you need to secure RE100-compliant I-RECs, verify grid boundaries, or ensure your certificate cancellations meet GRI’s quality criteria, we handle the heavy lifting for you.

Contact Monsoon to review your REC strategy ahead of the 2027 GRI reporting cycle.