Does SECR apply to you?
Report it from your bills.
SECR asks quoted and large UK companies to put their energy use and emissions in the directors' report. Check where you stand, then build the figures with the bill behind every figure.
Live in the platform. SECR is a reporting lens in the ESGen platform, and our team can prepare the disclosure with you.
SECR at a glance
Live in the platform- Who reports
- Quoted companies, and large unquoted companies and LLPs
- Large means
- Two or more of: turnover over £54m, balance sheet over £27m, more than 250 employees
- What goes in
- UK energy use, Scope 1 and 2 emissions, an intensity ratio, your method and efficiency action
- Where and when
- The directors' report, every financial year
- Exemption
- 40,000 kWh or less of UK energy in the year
Source: legislation.gov.uk, Companies Act 2006 s465 as amended by SI 2024/1303; SI 2008/410 Schedule 7 Part 7A.
What SECR asks, and of whom
Most firms with 10 to 249 staff sit outside SECR. Those inside it report a fixed set of figures each year.
Who it applies to
- Quoted companies, whatever their size.
- Unquoted companies and LLPs that are large: two or more of turnover above £54 million, a balance sheet above £27 million and more than 250 employees.
- These thresholds have applied since 6 April 2025. They replaced £36 million turnover and £18 million balance sheet.
- A smaller company inside a large group may still be asked for its figures by its parent.
Source: legislation.gov.uk, Companies Act 2006 section 465 as amended by SI 2024/1303.
What it asks for
- UK energy use in kWh.
- Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions.
- At least one intensity ratio, such as emissions per £1 million of turnover or per unit of output.
- The method used to work out the figures, and the energy efficiency action taken in the year.
- Quoted companies also report global energy use and emissions.
Source: legislation.gov.uk, SI 2008/410 Schedule 7 Part 7A.
Dates and numbers to know
New size thresholds
In force
Turnover above £54 million and a balance sheet above £27 million now mark a large company, up from £36 million and £18 million.
Source: legislation.gov.uk, SI 2024/1303
In the directors' report
In force
The figures cover the same financial year as your accounts and sit in the same directors' report.
Source: legislation.gov.uk, SI 2008/410 Sch 7 Part 7A
Low-energy exemption
In force
Use 40,000 kWh or less in the UK in the year and the report can say so instead of giving the full figures.
Source: legislation.gov.uk, SI 2008/410 Sch 7 para 20D(7)(a)
Government evaluation
Published
The government's evaluation of SECR describes its scope as quoted companies and large unquoted companies and LLPs.
Source: GOV.UK, DESNZ SECR regulations evaluation
Check your position in six questions
The result is indicative and shows which test decides it.
Answer for your company or LLP
Size thresholds in force since 6 April 2025
Are your shares quoted?
Listed on a UK or certain overseas markets
Is turnover more than £54 million?
Is the balance sheet total more than £27 million?
Do you have more than 250 employees?
Are you included in a large group's report?
Did you use 40,000 kWh or less in the UK in the year?
Indicative result
SECR does not look likely to apply
You pass fewer than 2 of the 3 large-company tests. Customers may still ask for the same figures, and the platform builds them the same way.
Indicative only. Group structure, a change of size between years and your financial year can all change the answer. Confirm your position with your accountant. Sources: legislation.gov.uk, Companies Act 2006 section 465 as amended by SI 2024/1303; SI 2008/410 Schedule 7 Part 7A.
Customers ask for SECR-style figures even where the law does not
The rule itself reaches few firms with 10 to 249 staff. The same energy and emissions figures reach many more through the supply chain.
Customers
Large buyers score their suppliers
JLR requires every direct supplier to hold a Sustainability Assessment Questionnaire score before a sourcing decision.
Source: JLR Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement, May 2026
Public tenders
Carbon Reduction Plans in government contracts
Central government contracts worth more than £5 million a year ask bidders for a Carbon Reduction Plan covering Scope 1, Scope 2 and five Scope 3 categories. Tier 1 contractors increasingly ask their subcontractors for the same.
Source: GOV.UK, PPN 006; ESGen research, September 2026
Requests
Carbon data requests are common
37% of UK firms with 50 to 249 staff, and 20% with 10 to 49 staff, were asked for carbon data in the previous 12 months.
Source: British Business Bank, SMEs and Net Zero 2025, October 2025
Groups
Subsidiaries feed the group report
If your parent company is large, it may need your energy and emissions figures for its own SECR disclosure.
Source: legislation.gov.uk, Companies Act 2006 section 465
From bills to a signed-off SECR disclosure
Check scope
Confirm whether SECR applies, which financial year it covers and whether the low-energy exemption fits.
Add sites and bills
List your sites and meters, then add electricity, gas and fuel bills and staff-car mileage, each with its document.
Calculate
The platform applies the UK government's conversion factors and logs every calculation.
Pick an intensity ratio
Choose one that fits your business, such as per £1 million of turnover or per unit of output, and keep it year to year.
Sign off and report
Lock the year, then use the SECR lens to set out the figures for your directors' report.
What ESGen does for SECR
SECR is live in the platform. Our team can also prepare the disclosure with you.
In the platform
The SECR lens
Your SECR figures, built from your own bills.
- Scope 1 and 2 from UK electricity, gas, diesel, petrol and staff-car miles
- UK government (DESNZ) conversion factors, loaded each year
- Evidence library, data checks and a calculation log
- A sign-off lock, so reported figures cannot drift
SECR summary
Financial year 2025/26
- UK energy use2.41 GWh
- Scope 1412 tCO₂eLocked
- Scope 2615 tCO₂eLocked
- IntensityPer £1m turnover18.7
With our team
Disclosure support
People who prepare the report with you.
- Confirm scope and the reporting year with you
- Draft the energy efficiency narrative from what you did
- Check the wording before it goes in the directors' report
- Carbon Reduction Plans and questionnaire answers from the same figures
Outside what we do
What we do not do
Some parts sit with your accountant, auditor or board.
- Give legal advice or guarantee compliance
- Audit or verify your figures
- Approve the directors' report, which is the board's decision
- Carry out ESOS energy audits
Learn more about UK carbon reporting
Carbon accounting, from the ground upScopes, conversion factors and tCO₂e in plain words.Guide
The frameworks that shape reportingWhich rules apply, by country.RegulationsUK Sustainability Reporting StandardsUK Sustainability Reporting StandardsWhere UK SRS stands and how it reaches suppliers.FrameworkSECR questions, answered
Could not find your answer? Talk to our team or email contactus@esgen.co.uk.
Sources
Rules change. We checked these sources in September 2026. Confirm your own position with your advisers before you rely on them.
- 1.legislation.gov.uk, Companies Act 2006, section 465
- 2.legislation.gov.uk, SI 2024/1303 (company size thresholds)
- 3.legislation.gov.uk, SI 2008/410, Schedule 7, Part 7A
- 4.GOV.UK, SECR regulations evaluation (DESNZ, 29 Jan 2026)
- 5.GOV.UK, PPN 006: Carbon Reduction Plans in major government contracts
- 6.JLR, Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement 2026
- 7.British Business Bank, SMEs and Net Zero 2025 (October 2025)
- 8.ESGen research, requirements for Birmingham manufacturing SMEs (27 Sep 2026)
See your SECR figures take shape
Book a 30-minute walkthrough and we will show you the SECR lens with data like yours.