What you’ll learn:
- Whether SECR applies to you and what you must report
- How to make defensible, audit-ready reporting decisions
- How to use SECR data to cut energy waste and costs
- How to align SECR with CSRD, UK SRS, and other frameworks
SECR Guide: What businesses need to know
SECR guide for UK businesses: who must report, what’s required, timelines, and how to use SECR to improve efficiency and compliance.
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Featuring Insights from David Carlin, Head of Risk at UNEP FI, global advisor on climate risk, regulation, and disclosure.
Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) is the UK’s framework for improving transparency around corporate energy use and carbon emissions. It helps organisations understand their environmental impact, reduce inefficiencies, and strengthen their overall sustainability performance.
Is SECR mandatory?
Yes. SECR is a mandatory requirement for qualifying UK companies and LLPs. Disclosures must be included within the organisation’s annual financial filings, making SECR part of core corporate reporting rather than a standalone exercise.
Who is covered?
SECR applies to:
- UK quoted companies of any size
- Large unquoted companies and LLPs meeting at least two of the following criteria:
- £36m+ annual turnover
- £18m+ balance sheet total
- 250+ employees
Companies consuming 40MWh or less of energy per year are exempt from detailed reporting.
What are the timelines?
SECR reporting follows a company’s financial year. Disclosures are submitted as part of the Directors’ Report or equivalent statutory filing, meaning SECR is due at the same time as annual accounts.
What are the requirements?
Companies must report:
- Total UK energy consumption
- Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions (Scope 3 encouraged)
- At least one emissions intensity metric
- Energy-efficiency actions taken during the reporting year
SECR also aligns with TCFD, CSRD, UK SRS and other frameworks, enabling companies to streamline methodologies and build a consistent foundation for wider sustainability reporting.
Tip 1: Start with a clear plan, not just data collection
Many companies begin SECR by gathering data without defining what the report needs to deliver. This creates unfocused reporting, unnecessary datasets, and diluted insights. Starting with a clear plan helps teams understand which metrics matter and ensures consistency throughout the reporting cycle.
Establishing the purpose, structure, and intended audience of the report early on prevents rework later and supports stronger alignment with other frameworks.
“Define the purpose, structure, and audience of your report upfront. That clarity reduces rework, supports alignment across frameworks, and ensures the data follows the decision, not the other way around.”
David Carlin
International Climate Advisor
Tip 2: Use SECR as a tool for operational efficiency
When used strategically, SECR becomes a way to uncover energy waste, inefficiencies, and operational risks. The data can highlight where processes or suppliers underperform and where the business may face future exposure to carbon pricing or tariff changes.
By comparing results across sites, teams, and peers, organisations can identify high-impact improvement areas and create more resilient, cost-efficient operations.
Use SECR to identify:
- Inefficient or excessive energy use
- Underperforming suppliers
- Process gaps compared to peers
- Exposure to carbon tariffs and pricing
- Cost-saving opportunities
“Carbon reporting shows you where the leaks are, where the holes are. It provides intelligence on potential future liabilities from carbon pricing and tariffs, and where operational processes need to be reconsidered.”
David Carlin
International Climate Advisor
Tip 3: Establish strong governance with executive leadership
SECR reporting is most effective when leaders champion it. Executive involvement provides accountability, sets expectations, and ensures teams have the resources and clarity needed to deliver quality reporting. Governance also depends on incentives and capability: teams need both direction and skills to act confidently.
Consistent communication and cross-functional coordination help embed SECR into core business processes rather than treating it as an annual exercise.
“Success always comes from having an executive champion who is really accountable. That’s how resources are opened up and how this is communicated across the firm. Incentives drive behaviour for individuals and companies alike.”
David Carlin
International Climate Advisor
Tip 4: Leverage interoperability across reporting frameworks
SECR overlaps with several major reporting frameworks, meaning companies can build one strong foundation that supports multiple compliance obligations. Aligning methodologies reduces duplication, strengthens accuracy, and helps organisations prepare for upcoming regulations such as the UK SRS.
Using consistent emissions calculations, data structures, and governance systems also simplifies audits and drives efficiency across all sustainability disclosures.
SECR aligns with:
“It’s increasingly important to align calculation methods and ensure interoperability. While some differences will remain, the key is distinguishing what’s truly emissions-specific.”
David Carlin
International Climate Advisor
Tip 5: Focus on reducing uncertainty, not just expanding coverage
Adding more data isn’t always beneficial. High-quality, lower-uncertainty data is more valuable than broad coverage built on outdated assumptions. Organisations should focus on improving the reliability of existing estimates and refining methodologies for major emission sources.
Reducing uncertainty strengthens both decision-making and stakeholder confidence, creating a more credible and actionable SECR report.
“Understanding how to make estimates better and reducing sources of uncertainty can be just as valuable as improving overall coverage. It’s amazing how stale some of that can get if you don’t look back at it.”
David Carlin
International Climate Advisor
How Sweep can help
- Report with confidence: Complete your SECR carbon footprint with audit-grade data quality, full traceability, and embedded calculation methodologies
- Turn compliance into intelligence: Identify energy waste, operational inefficiencies, and cost-saving opportunities across sites and suppliers with AI-powered analysis
- Future-proof your foundation: Align SECR with UK SRS, CSRD, ISSB, and other frameworks using one trusted dataset that adapts as requirements evolve
- Strengthen assurance readiness: Build credibility through complete audit trails and third-party verification support
