CRREM is revising its EUI Pathways. Here's what may change, and what it means for real estate portfolios.

It's likely to shift. CRREM is revising its EUI Pathways and decoupling them from the carbon pathway. The reason: the old pathway said more about how clean the electricity grid is than about how efficiently a building actually performs.

The old method: calculate a carbon budget per country → convert that into a CO₂ pathway → then translate that CO₂ pathway into an EUI pathway based on how clean the national grid is.

The issue: this means the pathway says more about the grid than about the building. A building connected to a carbon-intensive grid gets a strict energy budget, sometimes so strict that it's technically unachievable (CRREM's own words: "like being asked to live on 50 calories a day"). Meanwhile, an inefficient building on a rapidly greening grid can appear "aligned" simply because the electricity is cleaner. Two identical buildings, two very different signals, purely because of the country.

That's what CRREM wants to fix: an EUI pathway that measures building efficiency, independent of the grid.

The five proposed changes:

● EUI pathways will be decoupled from the carbon pathway and instead anchored to the IEA Net Zero Emissions scenario. This gives buildings roughly 30% more energy headroom than before, reflecting the expected growth in renewables and AI-driven demand.

● The global budget will be allocated based on floor area (m²) per country, rather than population size. For the Netherlands, this could mean a more lenient pathway, though the outcome depends on the feasibility test and the new profiles per building type.

● The cooling calculation will become more realistic, incorporating dehumidification and warmer, more humid climates. Little direct impact is expected for the Netherlands.

● Each building type will get its own energy profile, built from the ground up, more precise than the old method of multiplying a single baseline by a factor.

● A feasibility test will be introduced: are the calculated targets actually achievable in existing buildings?

What this means for real estate portfolios:

For investors who base their strategy on the EUI target, this could change quite a lot. What we expect in example for the Netherlands is that the EUI pathway may become more lenient, meaning more buildings are expected to qualify as CRREM-aligned based on energy efficiency. Our assessment is that the pathway will continue declining for longer rather than flattening out over time (CRREM has not confirmed this; this is our interpretation of the decoupling).

Later this year, CRREM will publish a concept paper with 18 example pathways across two building types and nine regions for consultation. The final revised EUI methodology will follow later this year.

The first release of new and updated pathways (renewed Carbon and EUI pathways, plus the reintroduction of a 2°C scenario and new building types) won't arrive until mid 2027, again for consultation. Final go-live is planned for end of 2027.

We're following these developments closely. Want to know the impact on your portfolio, or what this means for your roadmap and strategy? Get in touch with one of our CRREM consultants at info@Cooltree.nl.

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