ESG Reporting Requirements UK: What Businesses Need to Know
Updated: Oct 5
If you're trying to understand ESG reporting requirements in the UK, you may have already discovered that there isn't one simple set of rules that every business can follow.
Instead, UK businesses can encounter several different regulations, reporting frameworks and sustainability standards depending on their size, structure, listing status and activities.
Terms such as SECR, climate-related financial disclosures, UK SRS and Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions can make the subject feel more complicated, particularly if you're trying to work out what your business is actually required to report.
The first thing to understand is that there isn't one universal ESG reporting requirement that applies to every UK company.
In this guide, we'll explain the current ESG reporting UK landscape, look at some of the main regulations and sustainability reporting requirements businesses should know about, and explore how you can begin building the environmental and carbon data needed to support your reporting.
What Is ESG Reporting?
ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance, with ESG reporting bringing together information that helps explain how an organisation manages its impact, risks and performance across these three areas.
The environmental part of ESG can include information about greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, climate-related risks and opportunities, waste, resource use and environmental targets.
Social reporting can consider areas such as employees, working conditions, diversity, health and safety, human rights and community impact, while governance reporting can include board oversight, business ethics, corporate policies, accountability and risk management.
Not every organisation will report on these areas in exactly the same way because the information required will depend on the regulation, standard or reporting framework being followed.
For Scope, the environmental side of ESG is particularly relevant because businesses may need reliable information about their energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions to support wider sustainability reporting.
Some UK ESG reporting requirements are mandatory for organisations that fall within specific criteria, while other sustainability standards are currently voluntary.
Businesses may also receive requests for environmental and carbon data from customers, investors, procurement teams and organisations elsewhere in their supply chain, even when they don't have a direct legal requirement to produce an ESG report.
Is ESG Reporting Mandatory In The UK?
There is no single ESG reporting law that requires every UK business to produce the same standard ESG report.
Instead, the UK ESG regulations landscape contains different requirements that apply to different types of organisation.
Depending on your business, these can include requirements covering energy and carbon reporting, greenhouse gas emissions, climate-related financial information and other sustainability-related disclosures.
Some of these requirements are already mandatory for organisations that fall within their scope. UK SRS can also be used voluntarily, but the position for certain listed companies changed when the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) finalised its new sustainability disclosure rules in September 2026.
For example, the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) framework requires certain UK organisations to disclose specified energy and carbon information, while separate climate-related financial disclosure requirements apply to certain companies and LLPs.
The UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS S1 and S2) were published in February 2026 and remain available for voluntary use.
However, the FCA has now introduced a comply-or-explain UK SRS reporting regime for companies within specified UK listing categories. The new rules apply to accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, with first reporting in 2028.
The answer to whether ESG reporting is mandatory in the UK therefore depends on your organisation and the particular reporting requirement being considered.
This means that rather than simply asking whether ESG reporting is mandatory in the UK, businesses should first establish which reporting requirements apply to their organisation and what information they need to collect.
We also have a handy guide comparing ESG reporting requirements in the UK and Europe for businesses that want to understand the difference between the two.
What Are The Main ESG Reporting Requirements UK Businesses Should Know About?
Businesses researching ESG reporting requirements UK are likely to encounter several different regulations and standards, which can make it difficult to understand how they fit together.
The following provides a simple overview of some of the main requirements and standards businesses may come across:
Requirement or standard | What does it cover? | Current position |
SECR | Energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions | Mandatory for organisations within scope |
Climate-related financial disclosures | Climate-related risks, opportunities, governance, strategy and related information | Mandatory for certain companies and LLPs |
UK SRS S1 | General sustainability-related financial disclosures | Voluntary use; FCA comply-or-explain rules apply to specified listed companies from 2027 |
UK SRS S2 | Climate-related disclosures | Voluntary use; FCA comply-or-explain rules apply to specified listed companies from 2027 |
Other sector or listing requirements | Additional requirements can apply to certain listed, financial or regulated organisations | Depends on the organisation |
These requirements shouldn't be treated as interchangeable because an organisation may fall within one reporting regime but not another, while some larger or regulated businesses may be affected by several requirements.
Understanding which rules apply to your organisation should therefore come before deciding what ESG information you need to collect.
What Is Streamlined Energy And Carbon Reporting (SECR)?
Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting, usually shortened to SECR, is one of the main carbon reporting requirements UK businesses may encounter.
Introduced in 2019, the SECR framework requires organisations within its scope to disclose specified information about their energy use and greenhouse gas emissions within their annual reporting.
The framework applies to quoted companies and to certain large unquoted companies and LLPs. For unquoted companies and LLPs, the current SECR size test applies where an organisation meets at least two of the following criteria:
More than 250 employees
Annual turnover of more than £36 million
A balance sheet total of more than £18 million
Organisations with sufficiently low energy consumption can also qualify for an exemption from detailed disclosures in certain circumstances.
The exact information required under SECR reporting requirements differs between quoted companies and large unquoted companies or LLPs, but reporting can include energy consumption, associated greenhouse gas emissions, previous-year comparisons, an emissions intensity ratio and information about energy-efficiency measures.
If your organisation falls within SECR, you therefore need more than a final carbon figure. You also need a reliable process for collecting the activity data behind that figure, which may involve bringing together electricity consumption, gas and other fuels, transport information and relevant emissions data from across the business.
What Are The UK Climate-Related Financial Disclosure Requirements?
Alongside SECR, mandatory climate-related financial disclosure requirements apply to certain UK companies and LLPs for financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2022.
These requirements apply to specific categories of publicly quoted and large organisations rather than to every UK business. Organisations within scope include certain public interest entities and AIM-listed companies with more than 500 employees, as well as certain UK companies and LLPs with more than 500 employees and turnover above £500 million.
Climate-related financial disclosures are broader than simply reporting a carbon footprint because they can include information about how an organisation identifies and manages climate-related risks and opportunities, how those issues are governed, how they could affect strategy and the business model, and which targets or performance measures are being used.
This distinction is useful when looking at wider UK sustainability reporting requirements, because carbon reporting can provide an important part of an organisation's environmental information without representing the entirety of its ESG or climate-related reporting responsibilities.
What Are The UK Sustainability Reporting Standards?
One of the most important recent developments in sustainability reporting UK businesses should be aware of is the publication of the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards, known as UK SRS S1 and UK SRS S2.
The UK Government published the final standards on 25 February 2026. They are based on international sustainability reporting standards developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board, but have been adapted for use in the UK.
The two standards cover slightly different areas:
UK SRS S1 covers broader sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could affect a business financially.
UK SRS S2 focuses specifically on climate-related risks and opportunities.
For businesses trying to understand UK ESG reporting requirements, the important point is that publishing these standards did not suddenly make them mandatory for every UK company.
UK businesses can choose to use the standards voluntarily. However, the position is different for certain companies listed on the UK stock market.
In September 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) finalised new rules for companies within specified UK listing categories. These companies will be expected to report against UK SRS on a comply-or-explain basis for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, with first reporting under the new regime in 2028.
Put simply, comply or explain means an affected company should provide the required disclosure or explain why it has not done so.
The FCA is also giving affected companies additional time for some disclosures. This includes one year of transitional relief for Scope 3 emissions disclosures and two years for wider sustainability disclosures under UK SRS S1.
If your business isn't within the relevant FCA listing categories, you can still choose to use UK SRS voluntarily. You may also be asked for sustainability or carbon information by customers, investors or organisations in your supply chain without having a direct requirement to report against UK SRS.
The key point is that UK Sustainability Reporting Standards do not create the same reporting obligation for every UK business. When considering ESG reporting in the UK, businesses should first establish which regulations and standards apply to their organisation and then determine what information they need to collect and report.
What Is The Difference Between ESG Reporting And Carbon Reporting?
Although the terms are closely connected, ESG reporting and carbon reporting are not the same thing.
Carbon reporting focuses specifically on greenhouse gas emissions and the activity data used to calculate them. Depending on the organisation and reporting framework, this could include Scope 1 emissions, Scope 2 emissions, relevant Scope 3 emissions, energy consumption, emission factors, reduction targets and changes in emissions over time.
ESG reporting is much broader because it can bring this environmental information together with social and governance information, including areas such as workforce practices, business ethics, board oversight and corporate risk management.
For businesses that are beginning to prepare for ESG reporting in the UK, carbon measurement can therefore provide an important foundation for the environmental side of their reporting.
Building reliable emissions data gives organisations information they can use not only for formal reporting, but also for setting baselines, monitoring progress and understanding where their environmental impact is coming from.
Do Businesses Need To Report Scope 1, Scope 2 And Scope 3 Emissions?
Whether your business needs to report Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions depends on the reporting requirement or framework you are following.
Scope 1 emissions cover direct greenhouse gas emissions from sources an organisation owns or controls, while Scope 2 emissions relate to the generation of purchased or acquired electricity, steam, heating and cooling consumed by the organisation.
Scope 3 emissions cover other indirect emissions across the organisation's wider value chain.
Different UK ESG reporting requirements can treat these emissions differently, which means businesses shouldn't assume that every reporting framework requires all three scopes to be disclosed in the same way.
The more useful approach is to establish which framework or regulation applies to your organisation before identifying the emissions information that needs to be measured and reported.
Even where a particular emissions category isn't currently mandatory for your organisation, measuring a broader carbon footprint can still help you understand your environmental impact and respond to information requests from customers, supply chains, investors and other stakeholders.
If you're still establishing how the different emissions scopes work, our guides to Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions explain each area in more detail.
What ESG Reporting Requirements Apply To Small Businesses And SMEs?
Many smaller UK businesses won't fall directly within the thresholds for some of the mandatory reporting requirements covered in this guide, but that doesn't mean ESG, sustainability and carbon information will necessarily be irrelevant to them.
Smaller businesses increasingly operate within supply chains where larger customers need environmental information from suppliers. An SME may also encounter sustainability questions through procurement processes, tenders, investors, lenders, landlords, business partners or voluntary sustainability initiatives.
For example, a larger organisation measuring its Scope 3 supply chain emissions may ask suppliers for information about their energy consumption or carbon footprint. In this situation, the smaller supplier may not have a direct statutory requirement to produce a particular ESG report, but it may still have a commercial reason to understand and communicate its emissions.
If you're an SME in this position, you don't necessarily need to begin by trying to produce a comprehensive ESG report. A more manageable approach is to understand what information is being requested and begin building reliable data around the areas most relevant to your business.
For environmental reporting, this could mean starting with energy use, fuel consumption, business travel and other significant emissions sources before improving the quality and breadth of your carbon data over time.
What Carbon Data Should Businesses Start Collecting?
Understanding UK ESG reporting requirements is only one part of the process because businesses also need to consider where the information used in their reports will actually come from.
Depending on your organisation and the requirements you are following, useful environmental data could include:
Electricity consumption
Gas and other fuel use
Company vehicle fuel or mileage
Business travel
Waste
Purchased goods and services
Freight and deliveries
Employee commuting
Supplier information
Relevant event activities
Other Scope 3 emissions sources
Your organisation may already hold more of this information than you realise because electricity bills, fuel invoices, expense systems, travel booking platforms, procurement records and supplier information can all provide useful activity data for annual reporting.
The challenge is often not whether the data exists, but whether it can be brought together consistently enough to support accurate carbon measurement and reporting.
The UK Government publishes greenhouse gas conversion factors that allow organisations to convert activity data, such as fuel use, purchased electricity and distance travelled, into Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions. The 2026 factors are designed for UK organisations of all sizes and can support reporting under frameworks including SECR.
Businesses don't need to wait until every piece of carbon data is perfect before beginning this process. Using the best information reasonably available, documenting estimates and assumptions, and improving data collection over subsequent reporting periods can help build a more reliable footprint over time.
If you're at the beginning of this process, Scope's free business carbon calculator can help you start turning the activity data you already have into an initial picture of your organisation's carbon footprint. You can then build on that starting point as your data and reporting requirements develop.
How Should Businesses Prepare For ESG Reporting?
Preparing for ESG reporting in the UK becomes much more manageable when you begin with the requirements that are actually relevant to your organisation rather than trying to collect every possible sustainability metric.
A practical approach is to:
Identify the requirements relevant to your organisation by considering its size, structure, listing status, sector and any reporting requests coming from customers or supply chains.
Understand exactly what information needs to be disclosed so that mandatory requirements can be separated from voluntary frameworks and stakeholder requests.
Review the information your organisation already holds across finance, facilities, energy, travel, procurement, operations and supplier records.
Identify gaps in your existing data and establish where estimates may currently be necessary or where better information could be collected in future.
Create a repeatable data collection process so that information is gathered throughout the reporting period rather than reconstructed shortly before a report is due.
Keep your methodology consistent and documented, including reporting boundaries, emission factors, assumptions and calculation methods.
Review UK ESG regulations and sustainability standards regularly, particularly while the UK's sustainability reporting framework continues to develop.
A good reporting process isn't about collecting the largest possible amount of ESG information. It should help your organisation understand which information is required or useful, where that information comes from and how it can be managed consistently from one reporting period to the next.
How Can Scope Help With Carbon Data For ESG Reporting?
For many organisations, one of the biggest practical challenges with environmental reporting is managing the information behind the final carbon figures.
Electricity and gas consumption may sit with a facilities team, while business travel information comes from expense or booking systems, vehicle information is managed elsewhere and supplier data sits with procurement. When this information is spread across different teams, files and spreadsheets, maintaining a consistent carbon footprint can become increasingly difficult.
Scope's carbon tracking software gives businesses one place to bring emissions data together and build a clearer picture of their carbon footprint.
With Scope, businesses can:
Bring carbon activity data together rather than relying on disconnected spreadsheets and files.
Measure and manage Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions within a consistent process.
Calculate greenhouse gas emissions using relevant emission factors.
Keep carbon information organised across different reporting periods.
Review how emissions change over time as the business and its data develop.
Improve carbon data as more accurate information becomes available.
Track business and event carbon emissions within the same platform.
Scope doesn't replace the need to understand which ESG reporting requirements UK regulations and standards place on your organisation, and carbon data represents only one part of wider ESG reporting. However, when your organisation needs reliable environmental and emissions information, a structured carbon tracking process can make that information much easier to collect, calculate and manage.
You also don't need to wait until every part of your carbon footprint is perfect before getting started. Scope allows you to begin with the activity data you already have and develop a stronger picture of your emissions as your information improves.
If you're ready to start organising your carbon data for sustainability and ESG reporting, create your free Scope account and begin building your business carbon footprint in one place.
ESG Reporting Requirements UK FAQs
Is ESG Reporting Mandatory In The UK?
There isn't one universal requirement for every UK business to produce the same ESG report because different reporting requirements apply according to factors such as an organisation's size, structure, activities and listing or regulatory status.
SECR and climate-related financial disclosure requirements apply to organisations within their respective scope. UK SRS is also available for voluntary use, while specified listed companies will enter the FCA's comply-or-explain UK SRS reporting regime for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027.
Which Companies Need To Report ESG In The UK?
There isn't one category of company that must simply "report ESG", because different UK ESG regulations have their own eligibility criteria.
For example, SECR applies to quoted companies and certain unquoted companies and LLPs that meet its specific size criteria, subject to relevant exemptions. Separate climate-related financial disclosure requirements apply to specified large, publicly quoted and other organisations.
Businesses should therefore check the criteria for each applicable reporting requirement rather than assuming that one company-size threshold applies across the entire ESG reporting landscape.
What Is SECR Reporting?
SECR stands for Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting and requires organisations within its scope to disclose specified information about their energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions within their annual reporting.
The framework has applied since 2019 and remains an important part of the carbon reporting requirements UK businesses may need to consider.
Are UK Sustainability Reporting Standards Mandatory?
Not for every UK business. UK SRS S1 and UK SRS S2 remain available for voluntary use, but the FCA has now introduced a comply-or-explain reporting regime for companies within specified UK listing categories.
The new rules apply to accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, with transitional relief available for certain disclosures. Businesses should therefore check whether the FCA rules apply to their organisation rather than assuming UK SRS is either mandatory or voluntary in every situation.
Do Small UK Businesses Have To Report ESG?
Many small UK businesses won't meet the thresholds for some of the mandatory requirements discussed in this guide, although whether a requirement applies should always be checked against the relevant rules.
Smaller businesses may still receive requests for sustainability or carbon information through customers, procurement processes, supply chains, lenders and other stakeholders, which can make voluntary carbon measurement useful even without a direct statutory reporting requirement.
Is Carbon Reporting The Same As ESG Reporting?
Carbon reporting isn't the same as ESG reporting because it focuses specifically on greenhouse gas emissions and the activity data associated with calculating them.
ESG reporting covers a wider range of environmental, social and governance information, although carbon emissions can form an important part of the environmental information included within ESG and sustainability reporting.
Do UK Businesses Have To Report Scope 3 Emissions?
Not every UK business is automatically required to report all of its Scope 3 emissions. Whether Scope 3 information needs to be disclosed depends on the reporting requirements or framework that applies to the organisation.
Businesses may also choose to measure Scope 3 emissions voluntarily or provide emissions information in response to customer, investor or supply-chain requests.
What Data Do I Need For ESG Reporting?
The information you need depends on the particular ESG reporting framework or regulatory requirement your organisation is following.
For the environmental and carbon element of reporting, relevant information can include electricity and fuel consumption, business travel, company vehicles, waste, purchased goods and services, freight and other activities that contribute to your organisation's Scope 1, Scope 2 or Scope 3 emissions.
Build Your ESG Reporting On Better Carbon Data
Understanding ESG reporting requirements in the UK can initially seem complicated because there isn't one rule, threshold or reporting framework that applies consistently to every organisation.
Businesses need to consider their own size, structure and circumstances alongside the specific requirements of SECR, climate-related financial disclosures and any other regulations or standards that may apply.
The UK Sustainability Reporting Standards now form part of a changing reporting landscape.
Although the standards remain available for voluntary use, the FCA has finalised a comply-or-explain UK SRS regime for specified listed companies from accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027.
Businesses should therefore distinguish between requirements that apply directly to their organisation, voluntary standards they choose to follow and sustainability information requested by customers or other stakeholders.
Once you understand what your organisation needs to report, the next step is to identify the information you already have and build a consistent process for collecting anything that is missing.
For the environmental side of ESG reporting, this will often include understanding your energy consumption and developing reliable Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions data.
Scope can help you bring this carbon information together, calculate your emissions and track your business carbon footprint over time without relying on disconnected spreadsheets.
Because Scope also brings business and event carbon tracking into the same platform, organisations can develop a more connected picture of emissions across their day-to-day operations and the events they deliver.
You can begin with the carbon data your organisation already has and improve the quality of your footprint as more accurate information becomes available.
Create your free Scope account and start building a clearer, more manageable picture of your organisation's carbon emissions.
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