Summary
Details
- The United Kingdom
The SECR applies to quoted companies, large unquoted companies and large limited liability partnerships (LLPs), as defined below:
- Quoted companies: These are companies that are listed on the London Stock Exchange or the Stock Exchange of any European Economic Area State or the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq.
- Large unquoted companies and large LLPs: These are companies that meet two of the following criteria: an annual turnover of £36 million or more, a balance sheet total of £18 million or more, or 250 or more workers.
Deep dive
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Background
The UK’s Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) policy has applied since 1 April 2019 (for financial years beginning on or after that date) and aims to improve transparency in corporate energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting. SECR is implemented through the Companies (Directors’ Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018. Earlier, the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors’ Reports) Regulations 2013 required quoted companies to disclose their annual GHG emissions in the Directors’ Report. The 2018 Regulations extend and update these requirements for quoted companies and bring large unquoted companies into scope, while also requiring large LLPs to prepare an “Energy and Carbon Report.”
SECR builds on earlier UK energy/emissions frameworks, including the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme and the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS), which required qualifying organisations to assess and report energy-related information. SECR broadens and streamlines disclosure obligations and sits within the UK’s wider decarbonisation policy context (including the Clean Growth Strategy) and the UK’s now legally binding net-zero-by-2050 target.
Reporting requirements
Under the SECR, qualifying companies must include key information on energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in their annual reports as part of their statutory reporting obligations:
Companies must report associated greenhouse gas emissions, including Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (indirect) emissions. An emissions intensity metric selected by the company must be included, e.g emissions per square meters of floor space.
Companies must disclose their total energy use as well as energy efficiency actions taken during the reporting year.
The methodologies used to calculate energy use and emissions figures must be disclosed.
Reporting is done annually and should cover figures for the current and, where applicable, the prior year for comparison.
These disclosures are included either in the Directors’ Report (for companies) or the Energy and Carbon Report (for LLPs) that form part of the annual report.
SECR does not require reporting of all Scope 3 emissions, and companies are encouraged (but not obliged) to use recognised tools such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol when calculating and presenting emissions data.
Penalties for noncompliance
Depending on the nature of the breach, failure to comply with SECR provisions could result in enforcement action on two main fronts: the UK Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) Corporate Reporting Review and Companies House. The FRC’s Corporate Reporting Review function monitors and reviews the annual reports and accounts of public companies, large private companies and certain LLPs for compliance with legal reporting requirements, including statutory disclosures such as SECR information, and may raise questions or seek corrections directly with a company.
Companies House, which examines and stores company and LLP information including annual accounts and reports, can refuse to accept accounts that are not compliant with statutory requirements and applies a regime of automatic late filing penalties if accounts are filed after the deadline. Late filing penalties for annual accounts range from £150 up to £1,500 for private companies and LLPs and £750 up to £7,500 for public companies, with penalties doubling if accounts are filed late in two successive years. Companies House’s enforcement powers have been recently expanded to impose financial penalties for a broader range of filing breaches and pursue accuracy of filings more robustly.
Current status
The SECR framework remains the UK’s mandatory energy use and greenhouse gas emissions reporting regime for qualifying entities, continuing unchanged since its introduction in April 2019. An official government evaluation of SECR was published in early 2026, and plans are underway to transition to broader UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS) in the coming years, which may ultimately replace or update SECR requirements for many companies.
Resources
UK Government SECR Guidance (Environmental Reporting Guidelines) – official compliance guidance to help businesses meet SECR obligations.
From SECR to UK SRS – Recent industry commentary on the transition toward new sustainability reporting frameworks.
Energy and Carbon Report - CHEC's SECR report for 2024
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