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    SECRStreamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting

    Definition

    Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting — UK energy and emissions reporting requirements for specified company and LLP categories.

    Editorial definition: The QHSE Standard, updated 3 October 2026 · https://qhsetech.com/glossary/secr

    Scope: Check the current eligibility and exemption rules for the reporting entity and period.

    Sources checked: . Examples are editorial illustrations.

    What the SECR regulations require and their current status

    Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting comes from the Companies (Directors' Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018, SI 2018/1155. They came into force on 1 April 2019 and have effect for financial years beginning on or after that date. They amend the 2008 company accounts regulations and the equivalent partnership rules. The government's guidance says the rules reach UK quoted companies, large unquoted companies that must prepare a directors' report, and large limited liability partnerships, while other organisations are encouraged to report voluntarily.

    For an unquoted company the directors' report states the annual tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emitted through the combustion of gas, from fuel used for transport and from purchased electricity. It adds a kilowatt hour figure for the energy involved, a description of the main energy efficiency measures taken in the year, the methodologies used, at least one intensity ratio relating emissions to a quantifiable factor of its activities, and the previous year's figures after the first year. Figures may exclude emissions and energy outside the UK, and information is needed only as far as practical, with a statement of what is missing and why. Quoted companies fall under an amended Part 7 of the same Schedule, which adds an energy figure, UK proportions and efficiency measures. Disclosure is not required where the company used 40,000 kWh or less in the period and says so, or where the directors judge it seriously prejudicial.

    Check the text and status before relying on any figure. The legislation.gov.uk page opened for this entry shows the original, as made text, in which an unquoted company is exempt if it meets two or more of turnover of £36 million or less, a balance sheet total of £18 million or less and 250 or fewer employees. On the same site the revised Part 7A of the 2008 Regulations showed no amendment to these figures on 4 October 2026, though the site warns that revised text can lag, so confirm the current figures. The Regulatory Policy Committee published its opinion on the Department's post-implementation review on 8 June 2026. It records the Department's recommendation that the regulations be amended, with refinements such as clearer guidance, better consistency and alignment with other reporting frameworks, presented as options for further consultation. This page is general information and does not decide whether SECR applies to a given company.

    Sources opened :

    What a SECR record holds in software

    • The entity's status for the year: quoted, large unquoted, limited liability partnership, exempt by size or covered by a group report, with the test inputs.
    • Energy use in kWh by source, meaning gas, transport fuel and purchased electricity, with the UK and non-UK split.
    • Emissions in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent for each source, with the conversion factors and their publisher and year.
    • The methodology statement and any information left out, with the reason: not practical, 40,000 kWh or less, or prejudicial.
    • The intensity ratio, its denominator and the calculation.
    • Prior-year figures and any restatement.
    • Energy efficiency actions taken in the year, with description, date and owner.

    SECR, other emissions reporting and the sustainability standards

    SECR is a UK statutory report inside the directors' report. It asks for energy and emissions figures, a methodology and an intensity ratio, and it sets no target. The ESRS cover far more topics, and IFRS S2 covers wider climate disclosure, each under a different legal basis. A company may have to do more than one, each with its own boundary, so figures can legitimately differ between reports.

    A hypothetical example: kilowatt hours and an intensity ratio

    All figures here are invented, and the case describes no real company. A UK unquoted company above the size test records three energy sources for the year: gas 800,000 kWh, transport fuel 300,000 kWh and purchased electricity 1,200,000 kWh. The report states the aggregate, which is 2,300,000 kWh, and the tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent for each source using the factors it names. Its emissions total 1,150 tonnes and its turnover is £46 million, so the intensity ratio is 25 tonnes per £1 million of turnover. It states the methodology and the previous year's figures.

    A second company in the same group, outside any group report, consumed 35,000 kWh in the UK, which is below 40,000 kWh, so its report states that the information is omitted for that reason. Fuel used by a leased vehicle for which the team cannot obtain data is listed as not included, with the reason, because information is required only as far as practical.

    Common misunderstandings about SECR

    • SECR does not apply to every UK company. The guidance names quoted companies, large unquoted companies and large limited liability partnerships, and encourages others to report voluntarily.
    • SECR is not a target or reduction duty. It asks for figures, a methodology, an intensity ratio and a description of efficiency actions.
    • The 40,000 kWh exemption is not silence. The report must state that the omission is for that reason.
    • Overseas figures are not always required. An unquoted company's figures may exclude emissions and energy outside the UK.
    • The regime may change. The 2026 review recommends amendments, so record which text the report was prepared under.

    How SECR relates to other glossary terms

    SECR figures draw on the same inventory as other emissions reporting.

    • Scope 1 emissions: gas and transport fuel emissions are direct emissions in an inventory.
    • Scope 2 emissions: purchased electricity emissions, where the guidance encourages the location-based method if not reporting both.
    • GHG Protocol: the accounting standards behind the methodology a report states.
    • ISO 50001: an energy management standard, separate from this statutory report, that holds similar energy data.

    Records and evidence that usually exist for SECR

    • Gas, electricity and fuel invoices and meter readings by site.
    • Fleet and transport fuel records, including leased vehicles where they are within the company's responsibility.
    • The conversion factor table with publisher and year.
    • The size test workings for the entity or group.
    • The directors' report text and the methodology statement.
    • Records of efficiency measures taken, such as project approvals and completion notes.

    What a software tool needs to capture for SECR

    • Entity and group structure fields that support the size test and the group report exemption.
    • Energy and emissions data by source, site and period, with a UK and non-UK split.
    • Conversion factors held with source and year, so a change is visible.
    • A check against the 40,000 kWh test that prompts the omission statement.
    • Intensity ratio calculation with a recorded denominator.
    • Prior-year comparison and restatement handling.
    • A methodology and efficiency actions log that exports with the figures.

    Catalog profiles documenting carbon inventory or GHG calculation

    Profiles are listed because their record documents a carbon calculation capability. That does not show that a product produces a SECR report or holds the UK conversion factors.

    Same rule for every product: tagged “Carbon Accounting”, “Carbon Management”, “Scope 3 Emissions”, “Scope 3” or “Emissions Reporting”, with a sourced carbon inventory or GHG calculation capability in its record, or one the vendor stated to us, labelled as vendor-stated. Documented and conditional capabilities qualify; check the linked scope before treating a module as included.

    Tekmon pays for a sponsored placement (above); its place in this list follows the same rule as every entry. How lists are ordered

    All 18 matching profiles are shown. Documentation review, not hands-on testing or a claim of compliance.

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    Frequently asked questions

    Who has to report under SECR?

    The government's guidance names UK quoted companies, large unquoted companies with a directors' report duty and large limited liability partnerships. As made, the regulations exempt an unquoted company that meets two or more of three small-company limits. Check the current text and your group position.

    Is there an energy use below which nothing is reported?

    As made, the regulations do not require the information where a company used no more than 40,000 kWh of energy in the period, and for unquoted companies that means in the UK, if the report gives that as the reason. Directors may also omit information they judge seriously prejudicial and must say so.

    Is SECR changing?

    The Regulatory Policy Committee's opinion of 8 June 2026 records the Department's recommendation to amend the regulations. The legislation.gov.uk page opened for this entry shows only the original text, so check for amending regulations before relying on a date or threshold.

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