UK: Government review of SECR suggests retaining regime with targeted amendments

The UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (“DESNZ”) published the outcome of its post-implementation review ("PIR") of the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting ("SECR") regime on 26 May 2026. 

The headline recommendation is that the SECR should be retained, but that targeted amendments should be made to enhance its effectiveness, reduce duplication, and improve coherence with the UK's evolving sustainability reporting landscape.

What is the SECR regime?

The SECR regime has been in force since 1 April 2019. It requires in-scope UK companies and LLPs to disclose certain information on their energy use and greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions — focusing primarily on Scope 1 and Scope 2 — in their annual reports. 

For more information on the SECR, see our blog post: Reporting under the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) regime for the first time?

Background to the SECR review

In October 2023, DESNZ launched a call for evidence on the costs, benefits and practicalities of Scope 3 GHG emissions reporting in the UK. This also gathered evidence to inform the SECR regime PIR. For more information, see our blog post: UK government consults on Scope 3 emissions reporting and future of SECR regime.

The PIR, published on 26 May 2026, is a statutory exercise to evaluate whether the SECR regime has met its objectives, remains proportionate, and continues to be fit for purpose. Alongside the responses to the DESNZ consultation, it also draws on a business survey, qualitative interviews, and analysis of energy consumption data. 

What did the PIR find?

The PIR’s key conclusion is that the SECR regime has largely achieved its objectives of improving transparency and raising awareness of energy use and emissions. 

However, it does identify some areas for improvement and recommend targeted amendments:

• Increased transparency: Surveys show that 79% of businesses disclosed data under the SECR regime that they would not otherwise have published. There was a reported increase in internal awareness of energy use and emissions, and the SECR regime has (as part of the broader sustainability disclosure landscape) improved external disclosures.
• Energy savings delivered. The PIR estimates that the SECR regime contributed to energy savings of around 4.5% in 2020 and 6.2% in 2021 among in-scope unquoted companies and LLPs. However, it is possible that the impact of the SECR regime may be diminishing over time, and attribution is in any case challenging given overlapping policies and wider market conditions.
• Majority compliance, though not universal. Although the majority of in-scope entities comply with the SECR regime, there is estimated non-compliance of 14–23%. Gaps are more prevalent among private companies and LLPs. Enforcement is light-touch and less effective outside quoted companies.
• Manageable compliance burden but higher than expected costs. While participants generally describe the compliance burden as manageable, actual ongoing costs are substantially higher than predicted at policy design. This is partly because more businesses are in scope than originally anticipated, and partly because many outsource SECR work to external consultants.
• Compliance-driven rather than strategic. The SECR regime is increasingly treated as a compliance obligation rather than a strategic business tool. It is not being effectively integrated into broader decarbonisation planning and forward-looking frameworks are considered more important for strategic decision making by businesses in scope of the regime.

What changes does the PIR recommend?

The PIR recommends retaining the SECR regime with targeted amendments aimed at improving clarity, reducing duplication and administrative burden, and maintaining behavioural change. 

Key areas flagged for potential improvement are:

• clearer guidance on eligibility, site inclusion, and group reporting boundaries;
• a standardised disclosure template for better consistency and comparability;
• reducing duplication by seeking better alignment of definitions and metrics with international standards such as the ISSB, EU CSRD, and the TCFD (see our ESG Quick Guides for more on each of those regimes);
• exploration of light-touch forward-looking elements, such as optional targets or qualitative narratives; and
• centralised digital access to improve data usability and benchmarking.

What happens next?

The PIR’s recommendations are not final decisions. Any changes to the regime will need go through consultation and take into account proportionality and interoperability with related schemes.

The PIR has been published against a backdrop of significant – and ongoing – change in UK sustainability reporting: 

• In February 2026, the government formally endorsed the ISSB standards with some minor amendments for voluntary use in the UK (in the form of the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards or UK SRS).
• The FCA is consulting on how these will apply to listed companies, and the government has said it will consult on requirements for other entities. For more information, see our Quick Guide on the UK SRS.
• The government has also confirmed that its approach to sustainability reporting will be considered as a part of the broader reporting consultation - known as the Modernising Corporate Reporting ("MCR") programme - that it will be undertaking later this year.
• So it remains to be seen how the SECR regime and any future amendments to it will fit into this emerging framework. 

We have a number of Quick Guides on various sustainability disclosure regimes in the UK, EU and further afield – see our ESG Quick Guides.