Framework
SECR
The UK's mandatory carbon disclosure hiding inside your Directors' Report — and the one most finance teams underestimate.
What it is
The SECR in one paragraph
Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) is the UK regime introduced by The Companies (Directors' Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018, effective for financial years starting on or after 1 April 2019. It replaced the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme and consolidated carbon disclosure into the annual Directors' Report (or Energy and Carbon Report for LLPs). It is administered by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), with guidance published by DEFRA.
Who's in scope
In scope, thresholds, jurisdictions
SECR applies to three groups in the UK: (1) all UK quoted companies; (2) large unquoted companies and LLPs meeting two of three thresholds — turnover £36m+, balance sheet £18m+, or 250+ employees; (3) qualifying unquoted groups on a consolidated basis. A low-energy-user exemption applies if UK energy consumption is ≤40,000 kWh in the reporting period. Note: Companies Act size thresholds were uplifted in 2024 and SECR thresholds are expected to follow.
Key requirements
- Report UK energy use in kWh (gas, electricity, transport)
- Report Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in tonnes CO₂e; quoted companies must also report global emissions
- Disclose at least one intensity ratio (e.g. tCO₂e per £m turnover or per FTE)
- Describe energy efficiency actions taken during the reporting period
- State the methodology used (typically GHG Protocol) and include prior-year comparatives after year one
- Include the disclosure in the Directors' Report (or Energy and Carbon Report for LLPs), signed off by directors
- Unquoted companies may exclude Scope 3, but voluntary inclusion is encouraged
Deadlines & timing
- Applies to financial years starting on or after 1 April 2019 — already in force
- Disclosure filed with Companies House alongside annual accounts (typically within 9 months of year-end for private companies, 6 months for public)
- No separate SECR filing — it lives inside the Directors' Report
- Threshold uplift alignment with 2024 Companies Act changes — effective date to be confirmed
Where finance teams get stuck
Separating UK energy from global consumption when the ERP doesn't tag by jurisdiction
Capturing transport fuel: grey-fleet mileage claims, hire cars and fuel cards rarely sit in one system
Choosing and defending a meaningful intensity ratio year-on-year through restructurings
Scope 2 reporting: location-based is required, but many stakeholders expect market-based too
Aligning the SECR narrative with the TCFD / IFRS S2 climate narrative in the same annual report
How neoeco helps
- Ledger-first ingestion tags every fuel-card, utility and travel invoice by UK vs non-UK cost centre
- DEFRA conversion factors applied automatically for the correct reporting year
- Auto-generated intensity ratios with configurable denominators (turnover, FTE, floor area)
- Energy-efficiency action log captured throughout the year from procurement and capex data
- Export templates for Directors' Report narrative, including board-ready summary tables
- Multi-entity consolidation for qualifying groups with inter-company eliminations
- Audit trail linking every kWh and tCO₂e back to a source transaction
Related frameworks
GHG Protocol
The global accounting rulebook behind every credible carbon number — and every framework that cites Scope 1, 2, 3.
Read about GHG ProtocolUK SRS
The UK's endorsed version of IFRS S1 and S2 — the standard the FCA and DBT will point to when disclosure becomes mandatory.
Read about UK SRSCDP
The investor- and customer-driven questionnaire your procurement team keeps forwarding to finance — now aligned with IFRS S2.
Read about CDPSECR ready
Generate SECR-ready disclosures from your ledger
Book a 30-minute walkthrough focused on SECR. We'll show you the data model, the export template, and what your auditor will test.