SECR stands for Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting scheme and affects nearly 12,000 businesses within the UK. 

For most organisations that are within the purview of SECR, the task of reporting is already underway but with the rush to comply may mean you could miss potential benefits and opportunities SECR has to offer.

What is SECR?

It is legislation introduced in 2019 that states it’s mandatory for large businesses, including charitable organisations to report on their energy and carbon emissions. Failure to comply means not only missed opportunities but penalties for those that are required to by law.

Who must comply with the SECR framework?

UK incorporated companies:

listed on the following:

• The main market of the London Stock Exchange
• A European Economic Area market
• or whose shares are dealing on the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ

Unquoted large companies incorporated in the UK

Required to prepare a Directors’ Report under Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006

Large Limited Liability Partnerships 

Your company falls under a large company if it meets two or more of the following criteria:

• turnover (or gross income) of £36 million or more
• balance sheet assets of £18 million or more
• 250 employees or more

What are the benefits to the SECR scheme?

• Identifying areas of energy waste and potential saving
• Drive engagement and collaboration within your organisation
• Boosting green and sustainability credentials
• Tracking environmental KPIs year on year
• Highlighting risks from volatile energy and commodity prices

These opportunities lead to savings for your business, bringing awareness and working collaboratively towards your energy and carbon footprint.

Seeing what your emissions actually are is a powerful motivation for change. This can be a great start to working towards a Net Zero target for the future.

The next steps

Our team can help take care of all your needs, in three clear steps to ensure SECR compliance for your business.

Step 1: Strategy Formulation and Data Collation

• Understand business objectives, structure, processes, energy portfolio & reporting
• Determine metrics to report against
• Set baseline year
• Gather energy and transport data throughout the period

Step 2: Auditable Performance Reports

• Measure performance against baseline year and selected metrics
• Note any energy efficiency initiatives
• Provide auditable quarterly reports
• Establish data for annual energy consumption, transport and carbon emissions
• Prepare a SECR compliant report for company annual return

Step 3: Financial Reporting Sign-off

• Review and approve SECR
• Evaluate identified or investigate new efficiency saving projects
• Plan for reductions/improvements in the following years performance

Worried about meeting your SECR deadline due to Coronavirus?

If coronavirus has affected your business and you require more time to file, you may make an application for an extension period for your company. This should be done before your company filing deadline.

Do you have more questions around SECR and what it means for your company?

Get in touch with our team of experts at hello@brownlowutilities.co.uk or Book a Call and we’ll ring you at a time that suits you.