With sustainability regulations and reporting becoming a mandatory requirement for businesses across all sectors and sizes, Seismic’s regulation requirement series is here to help unpack the changes.
The series aims to provide key insights and takeaways to help businesses understand how they might be affected, and how they need to prepare.
In this blog, discover what Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) means, what type of businesses it affects, and why it’s important to your wider sustainability strategy.
What does SECR mean and why is it important?
Compliance with SECR is the first step towards ambitious carbon reduction.
Understanding, managing and reducing carbon should be a top priority for all businesses. Over 3,000 companies are working to set Science Based Targets (SBTis) to reduce their carbon emissions, and ambitious action is required now to limit the impacts of global warming and to future-proof businesses from increasingly severe climate risks.
SECR requires companies to consider, measure and report on their carbon emissions. While the focus is largely on Scope 1 and 2, it’s a useful and important first step for companies measuring their entire Scope 1-3 footprint and setting Net Zero targets.
What types of businesses need to comply with SECR reporting?
Organisations that must annually comply with SECR include quoted companies, large Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) and large unquoted companies, including charities and non-profit organisations.
A large company is defined as having a turnover of more than £36 million, a balance sheet total of over £18 million or over 250 employees.
The requirements of SECR
SECR requires companies that are eligible to measure and report on scope 1 and 2 emissions from the previous 2 years. This includes a total energy consumption and intensity analysis, in addition to providing methodology and measures implemented to ensure accurate reporting.
For quoted companies, this must include their global emissions, while other large businesses are required to focus on their UK emissions. The emissions must be disclosed in the companies annual report, and Seismic recommends also including it within your Impact or Sustainability Report.
4 Tips to get started
Hear from Seismic’s Carbon Experts on how to get started with SECR:
- Speak with Seismic to understand if your business is required to report under SECR
- Understand which emission sources within your business need to be included within SECR
- Collect data and calculate emissions for these data sources
- Produce your SECR table and include this within your annual report
Seismic as your sustainability partner
Drawing from over 40 years of cumulative expertise in carbon management, Seismic stands as a reliable partner to help you navigate SECR within your sustainability journey. Get in touch with our carbon team.
