Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting

What is SECR?

Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) is a recently introduced legislation which came into force on the 1st of April 2019. SECR has been devised to make carbon and energy reporting easier for companies, by aligning it with existing mandatory reporting procedures. SECR has been introduced to help encourage businesses to increase the energy efficiency of their properties, and at the same time, reduce their carbon emissions.


Who Will SECR Affect?

Under the new SECR legislation three types of business groups will be affected and will need to annually report their Greenhouse Gas emissions along with detailing how they plan to reduce them.

The business groups which will be affected are:

 

Quoted companies of any size that are already obliged to report their Greenhouse Gas annually.

 

 

Unquoted companies incorporated in the UK that are defined as ‘large’ under the Companies Act 2006. This applies to registered and unregistered companies.

 

 

‘Large’ Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) will be required to prepare and file a ‘Energy and Carbon Report’.

 

Companies are classified as a large organisation if they meet any of the following conditions:

They employ

or more employees

They turnover more than

million annually

They have an annual balance sheet total of

million or more

What must you do?

Companies must report on their:

  • Scope 1 Emissions – Mandatory (Direct Emissions) – Activities owned or controlled by your organisation that release emissions into the atmosphere e.g. boilers, vehicles refrigerants such as F gases
  • Scope 2 Emissions – Mandatory (Energy Indirect Emissions) – Emissions being released into the atmosphere associated with your purchased electricity, heat & steam or cooling
  • Scope 3 Emissions – Discretionary (Other Indirect Emissions) – Emissions that are a consequence of your business activities which occur from sources out of your controls e.g. business travel by means not owned/controlled by you, waste disposal

Following the first year of submission, a year on year comparison must be included. Details of steps taken by the company to reduce emissions must also be made clear.

When Must You Comply?

SECR needs to be reported on each financial year. Since the legislation came into force on the 1st of April 2019, the 1st of April 2020 will have seen the first-time organisations needed to comply.

Qualifying companies must include their annual SECR figures in their Directors Report or an equivalent Energy and Carbon Report for LLPs.

Companies House may reject a Directors’ Report that does not contain SECR data and apply a late filing penalty.

How Can We Help?

Although SECR legislation is new, when it comes to carbon and energy reporting, the team here at Compliance365 are extremely knowledgeable. We’d be happy to talk to you about SECR and what it means for your business.

Compliance365 will help you to collect your information through our C365cloud Compliance software which will then be presented back to you in an Executive Summary, suitable for you Director’s Report.

Our experienced consultants will also be able to work with you to develop innovative ways to reduce your carbon emissions, working alongside your current energy & carbon committees to ensure best practices.

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