SECR Compliance and Reporting Guidance
Understand your SECR obligations, identify whether your organisation is in scope, and prepare accurate energy and carbon reporting.
The UK’s commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2050 continues to shape corporate responsibility and reporting standards. Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) introduced in April 2019, is now a well-established framework.
The UK Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting framework (SECR) was introduced to bring the benefits of carbon and energy reporting to many more UK businesses. Organisations in scope with a financial year that starts on or after this date need to comply.
The aim of SECR Reporting is to put green credentials into the public domain and help organisations achieve the benefits of environmental reporting.
These include:
- Elevating your business as a sustainable supplier
- Improving staff retention and recruitment
- Strengthening your organisation’s reputation
- Helping you publicly contribute to a mass movement of change.
TEAM Energy’s video guidance defines how Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting can deliver value beyond statutory disclosure. It highlights how structured reporting improves visibility of energy use, supports more informed management decisions, and helps organisations identify efficiency improvements. The video also shows how SECR can strengthen internal governance and provide a clearer foundation for ongoing carbon and energy performance improvement.
Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) builds on existing mandatory Greenhouse Gas emissions (GHG) reporting, the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS), and EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). It also replaces the reporting element of the closed CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme.
Related Services
Do you need to Comply with the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) Scheme?
Understanding whether SECR applies to your organisation is a critical first step before focusing on reporting detail. SECR obligations depend on company size, structure and reporting status, and can differ across quoted, unquoted and LLP entities.
This infographic provides a high‑level decision overview to help organisations quickly assess whether SECR compliance is likely to apply, and where further review or specialist support may be required.
Understanding whether SECR applies to your organisation is a critical first step before focusing on reporting detail. SECR obligations depend on company size, structure and reporting status, and can differ across quoted, unquoted and LLP entities.
This infographic provides a high‑level decision overview to help organisations quickly assess whether SECR compliance is likely to apply, and where further review or specialist support may be required.
How TEAM’s SECR Guidance can Help your Organisation
We are experts in data, energy and reporting and can support you to achieve your first SECR report and help you deliver your published sustainability promises. Our service can help in a number of ways:
- Analyse the scope of energy data relevant to your business and help you define your own energy reporting methodology to suit your organisation
- Help you set your organisational boundaries and understand the environmental issues that are applicable to you
- Manage the data for your entire energy estate, on your behalf. Validating utility bill information, identifying and correcting errors to produce an accurate compliance submission
- With a range of sector expertise, our energy specialists are on hand to advise and help you to implement energy efficiency projects and help you build out your energy and sustainability strategy
- Utilise our industry leading Sigma energy management software to produce your own advanced reports suitable for UK regulations
- Data management expertise for a comprehensive SECR Guidance audit report.
Our SECR Services
We offer a suite of SECR services that are designed to work alongside your organisation’s energy management strategy and help you meet your compliance goals.
- SECR compliance: Our straightforward SECR compliance service includes analysing the scope of your data, calculating your emissions and producing your SECR report ready for submission.
- SECR and data audit: In addition to delivering your SECR report, we will sample audit your energy consumption and environmental data to ensure its accuracy for complete compliance.
- SECR and bespoke data collection framework: We will define and develop a robust energy and environmental data collection framework alongside your report, that can be used to achieve SECR year on year.
- Bureau service and SECR: With our combined Bureau and SECR service, we relieve you of the administration time of managing the data for your entire energy estate. We will validate your utility bill information; identifying and correcting errors to produce an accurate SECR submission.
Discover our free downloadable guide that explains SECR in more detail here.
Automate SECR Compliance and Prepare for UK Sustainability Reporting Standards
Our Carbon Reporting Software streamlines the entire SECR process by automating data collection, emissions calculations, and report generation. This reduces manual effort, ensures accuracy, and provides audit ready outputs aligned with SECR requirements. Beyond compliance, the platform helps businesses build robust carbon data management practices, positioning them to meet emerging UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS). With integrated dashboards and configurable reporting, you can confidently manage your carbon footprint and stay ahead of regulatory change.
Looking Beyond SECR: Preparing for UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS)
For many organisations, SECR is the first step towards broader sustainability reporting. The data collection processes, governance controls and reporting disciplines established for SECR can provide a valuable foundation for future disclosure requirements.
The forthcoming UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS) are expected to introduce wider sustainability and climate-related reporting obligations across UK businesses. While SECR focuses primarily on energy consumption, carbon emissions and energy efficiency actions, UK SRS is expected to require organisations to report on a broader range of sustainability topics.
Organisations that use SECR as an opportunity to strengthen their environmental data management and reporting frameworks will be better positioned to respond to future reporting requirements. Developing robust reporting processes today can help reduce future compliance burdens while supporting more informed sustainability decision-making.
What Our Customers Say
SECR Frequently Asked Questions
Approximately 11,900 organisations across the UK will need to comply with SECR and report their energy consumption and carbon emissions in their annual financial report. The scheme sets out to support companies cut costs, improve productivity and reduce carbon emissions.
The businesses who will need to comply with SECR reporting requirements fall into the following groups:
- Quoted companies of any size that are already obliged to report under mandatory greenhouse gas reporting regulations.
- UK registered, unquoted companies incorporated in the UK that meet the definition of ‘large’ under the Companies Act 2006. This applies to registered and unregistered companies. Note that the criteria for ‘large’ differs from the ESOS Regulations.
- ‘Large’ Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) who will be required to prepare and file an ‘Energy and Carbon Report’
Unquoted companies or LLPs are defined as ‘large’ if they meet at least two of the following three criteria in a reporting year:
- a turnover of £36m or more;
- a balance sheet of £18m or more; or
- 250 employees or more.
Your SECR report will be included in your annual accounts as submitted to Companies House.
The Conduct Committee of the Financial Reporting Council will be responsible for monitoring compliance of your SECR information provided. If your report does not meet the requirements, it may be rejected, and a penalty applied for late compliance.
- Annual energy use, which includes global energy use for UK quoted companies.
- Reporting of greenhouse gas emissions.
- Inclusion of related information in the annual Directors’ Report.
Although SECR is compulsory for specific companies, the government encourages all other companies to voluntarily adopt similar reporting practices. For full SECR reporting guidance seek the help of a professional energy consultant
From April 1st, 2019, companies have the requirement to include information related to energy use and carbon emissions in their annual Director’s Report for each subsequent financial year.
Both are UK government schemes that require large businesses to report on energy use, but they have different formats and reporting requirements:
SECR:
- The SECR compliance threshold is:
- At least 250 employees.
- Annual turnover greater than £36 million.
- Annual balance sheet total greater than £18 million.
- Requires annual reporting of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.
- Includes an intensity ratio comparing emissions to a metric like turnover or units of production.
- Reports are submitted to Companies House as part of annual accounts.
ESOS:
- Operates on a four-year cycle, with companies choosing a 12-month period for reporting.
- Focuses on identifying opportunities for improving energy efficiency but does not require reporting on emissions.
- Compliance is notified to the Environmental Agency and made publicly available.
While both schemes aim to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions, SECR is more about reporting emissions annually, and ESOS is about identifying energy-saving opportunities every four years.
Reporting Scope 3 emissions is optional, but highly recommended.
If your organisation requires a SECR, it is also necessary to comply with the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS). Both SECR and ESOS are essential components of comprehensive environmental reporting and energy management.
Request a Free Quote
Our SECR services can help your organisation achieve compliance, call 01908 690018 to find out more