From April 2019, Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) comes into force replacing the CarbonReduction Commitment (CRC) with a simpler reporting framework building on the existing mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions by UK quoted companies and the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS).

SECR aims to ensure more businesses benefit from carbon and energy reporting and encourage the implementation of energy efficiency measures enabling business to cut costs, improve productivity and reduce their carbon emissions.

Companies that have an energy use more than 40MWh and meet the following criteria must comply unless they meet certain exemption criteria:

• Quoted UK companies of any size that are obliged to report under mandatory greenhouse gas reporting regulations
  

• Registered and unregistered unquoted UK companies that meet at least two of the following criteria:

• Employ 250 or more employees

• A turnover of £36 million or more

• A balance sheet total of at least £18 million or more

• Large Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) who are required to prepare and file an Energy and Carbon Report
  

If companies fall into the above criteria but have an energy use less than 40MWh, they will still need to include a statement within their report confirming that they are a low-energy user.

In the instance where there is a parent company with subsidiaries, the energy and carbon data for all entities should be included in the group-level report. A subsidiary will not need to report its own energy and carbon information in its annual accounts if it has been included in the group-level report. However, there is an option to exclude a subsidiary from the group report if it would not be obliged to report under SECR in its own right.

All private sector organisations are encouraged to report their carbon and greenhouse gas emissions even if they fall outside of the scope for SECR.