Regulatory Framework · United Kingdom
UK SECR, and what it does and does not ask of your suppliers
Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting makes large and quoted UK companies publish their energy use and Scope 1 and 2 emissions in the annual report. Here is who is caught, what each group must disclose — and why the data request in your inbox is probably coming from somewhere else.
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Summary for orientation only, current at the review date above. Thresholds and requirements are set by regulation and can change — confirm anything load-bearing with the government reporting guidelines or a qualified adviser.
- Quoted companies are caught at any size. No threshold at all — the part most readers miss.
- Large unquoted companies and LLPs are caught on two of three: £54m turnover, £27m balance sheet, 250 employees — uplifted for financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025 (previously £36m / £18m).
- Quoted companies report global Scope 1 and 2; large unquoted and LLPs report UK energy and the emissions from it.
- Under 40,000 kWh for the period? An in-scope organisation can claim the low energy user exemption instead.
- Scope 3 is voluntary under SECR. So SECR is usually not why a UK customer is asking you for data.
What SECR is
Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting requires large and quoted UK companies to disclose their energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in their annual report. It was introduced by regulations made in 2018, applies to financial years starting on or after 1 April 2019, and replaced the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme. The disclosure lands in the Directors' Report — or, for LLPs, in an Energy and Carbon Report.
It is a disclosure regime, not a reduction target. No company has to cut anything to satisfy SECR. It has to publish the numbers, say how it worked them out, and describe what it did about efficiency during the year.
Who reports, and what boundary
The three groups do not all report the same thing, and this is where summaries usually go wrong.
| Who | Test | Reporting boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Quoted companies | Any size — no employee or turnover threshold | Global Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, and global energy use |
| Large unquoted companies | Two of three: turnover ≥ £54m · balance sheet ≥ £27m · 250+ employees | UK energy use and the Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions associated with it |
| Large LLPs | Same two-of-three test, reported in an Energy and Carbon Report | UK energy use and associated Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions |
There is also a genuine carve-out worth knowing: an in-scope organisation that used 40,000 kWh or less across the reporting period may state that it is a low energy user rather than make the full disclosure.
What goes in the report
Energy use
Electricity, gas and transport fuel, in kWh, for the reporting period — with the previous year alongside it after the first year.
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions
Converted using the UK Government conversion factors. Scope 3 is voluntary under SECR and most reporters include little or none of it.
At least one intensity ratio
Emissions against a business metric the company chooses — per £m turnover, per unit produced, per square metre. The choice is theirs.
Efficiency action and methodology
A narrative of energy-efficiency measures taken in the year, and a statement of the methodology used so the figures can be read properly.
Why the request in your inbox is probably not SECR
This is the part worth being straight about, because getting it wrong sends suppliers looking for the wrong data.
Germany's LkSG generates supplier questionnaires directly: an in-scope company is required to do due diligence on its direct suppliers, so it has to ask them things. SECR does not work like that. It asks a company about its own energy and its own Scope 1 and Scope 2. Your emissions would sit in that company's Scope 3 — and Scope 3 is voluntary under SECR.
So when a UK customer asks you for figures, the driver is usually one of three other things: a net-zero or science-based target they have committed to publicly, a request cascading down from their own customer, or reporting built on the ISSB baseline, where Scope 3 does become required. The request is entirely real. It is just worth knowing which question you are answering, because the answer that satisfies a science-based target is not shaped like the answer that satisfies a listing rule.
The number they want from you
In almost every case it is the same short list: annual electricity in kWh, fuel burned on site and in vehicles, and the Scope 1 and Scope 2 totals that come out of them — with the factor and its vintage stated, so the figure can be checked rather than taken on trust.
EcoDiligence calculates UK Scope 2 on the DEFRA 2024 grid factor of 0.207 kgCO₂e/kWh, location-based and excluding transmission and distribution losses, and states that on the profile and in the PDF. UK profiles carry a UK SECR Disclosure Support badge alongside VSME — which means a structured, self-reported disclosure that helps you answer a request. It is not an SECR filing, not independent assurance, and not a statement that anyone is compliant.
Common questions
Thresholds, boundaries and exemptions summarised here were reviewed on August 24, 2026 against the UK government environmental reporting guidelines as published at that date. They are set by regulation and can change; this page is orientation, not legal or accounting advice, and scope should be confirmed with the guidelines or a qualified adviser. DEFRA, DESNZ and the Environment Agency are independent of EcoDiligence.
EcoDiligence ESG Passports are self-reported summaries structured for ESG disclosure workflows. Content is not independently assured. Information aligned with EFRAG VSME and IFRS S2 (ISSB) frameworks does not constitute formal compliance or certification.
Give your UK customer a number they can use
Scope 1 and Scope 2 on the published UK factors, with the vintage and the basis on the record. Free to start.