SECR consultancy · United Kingdom
SECR consultancy: what SECR consultants do and deliver
A SECR consultant takes a company from raw energy bills to the energy and carbon section of its directors’ report, under rules created by SI 2018/1155.
This page explains what SECR consultancy involves, what the deliverable must contain, and how to judge a provider in a field with no credential.
The engagement
What SECR consultancy involves
SECR consultancy is the work of turning a company’s energy use into a lawful disclosure.
A SECR consultant confirms whether the company is in scope, gathers the energy data, calculates emissions using the government conversion factors, chooses an intensity ratio and drafts the narrative on energy-efficiency actions.
The method usually follows the government’s environmental reporting guidelines and, for the inventory, the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard.
The disclosure belongs to the directors, who approve the directors’ report; a consultant prepares, and the board signs.
The full regime — who is in scope, what the directors’ report must contain, deadlines and enforcement — is on our SECR compliance guide.
From energy data to the board
- 01Confirm scope
Quoted, unquoted or LLP; standalone or parent; the ¶20B or ¶20C test.
- 02Set the boundary
Which entities and sites; whether to exclude non-UK energy where permitted.
- 03Collect a year of energy data
Gas, electricity, transport fuel — and heat, steam or cooling for a quoted company.
- 04Convert to emissions
Usually with the year’s government conversion factors.
- 05Ratio, methodology, narrative
At least one intensity ratio; the method; the principal efficiency measures.
- 06Draft and approve
The directors (or LLP members) approve; filed with the accounts.
Who needs it
Who needs a SECR consultant
SECR applies to every quoted company, and to unquoted companies and LLPs above the size limits.
Paragraph 20B exempts an unquoted company that satisfies two or more of: turnover not more than £36 million, balance sheet total not more than £18 million, and not more than 250 employees.
That test is self-contained: it did not move when the Companies Act size thresholds rose on 6 April 2025.
No law requires a consultant; the question is whether the company has the data and the time in-house.
Organisations new to scope, groups using the parent test, quoted companies reporting global figures, and anyone whose boundary has changed through an acquisition gain most from specialist SECR consultants.
| Population | In scope when |
|---|---|
| Quoted company | Always, at any size |
| Unquoted company (incl. AIM) | It exceeds at least two of £36m turnover, £18m balance sheet, 250 employees |
| LLP | The same limits, in SI 2008/1911 reg 12B |
The deliverable
What the SECR section must contain
Judge a SECR consultancy on whether its draft carries everything Schedule 7 names for your population.
Annual energy use in kWh
Quoted companies globally, with the UK and offshore proportion; unquoted companies and LLPs may limit it to the UK.
Greenhouse gas emissions in tCO₂e
Quoted: fuel combustion, facilities, purchased electricity, heat, steam or cooling. Unquoted and LLPs: gas, purchased electricity and transport fuel.
At least one intensity ratio
Emissions expressed against a quantifiable factor the company chooses — revenue, floor area, output.
The methodology used
Stated for the energy and emissions figures; not required for the narrative.
Principal energy efficiency measures
What the company actually did in the year to improve energy efficiency.
Last year’s figures
From the second year of reporting.
A company that consumed 40,000 kWh or less may omit the energy and emissions disclosures only if the report says so; for unquoted companies and LLPs the test is UK consumption.
SECR requires no target, no transition plan and no Scope 3 beyond transport fuel.
The same test applies if you are buying a platform instead of an adviser: judge it on what Schedule 7 asks for, not on a “SECR-compliant” label, because the duty falls on directors rather than on any tool — the buyer’s comparison is in this reference on SECR reporting software.
Choosing
How to choose SECR consultants
Because no credential exists, a SECR consultancy is judged on method.
Ask which conversion factors it will use, and how it will handle a year that straddles two sets.
Ask how it sets the boundary, and whether it will rely on the permission to exclude non-UK energy.
Ask how estimates are made and documented where meter data is missing, since the methodology must be stated.
Ask which intensity ratio it recommends, and why it will stay comparable year on year.
Ask whether the same inventory can feed ESOS and UK SRS, so the same energy is measured once — the approach carbon consultancy and emissions compliance consultants take to a full inventory.
The statutory auditor does not assure SECR figures: section 496 asks only whether the directors’ report is consistent with the accounts and prepared in accordance with the law.
The full buyer’s checklist is on our guide to choosing a SECR compliance specialist.
SECR requires no verification, and there is no register of SECR practitioners.
UKAS accredits certification and verification bodies, never consultants — so “UKAS-accredited SECR consultant” describes nothing.
Cost of compliance
What SECR costs, on the government’s figures
No regulator publishes a fee scale for SECR consultancy, and this page gives none.
What the government has published is the measured cost of compliance: DESNZ’s independent evaluation found a mean ongoing cost of £7,100 a year, against £2,300 predicted in 2018.
Of that, about 94 hours of internal staff time — around £2,500 — was the in-house share, and 56% of compliers reported external costs.
The evaluation attributes part of that gap to a denominator error in the 2018 impact assessment’s own costing.
Across the economy, the 2026 post-implementation review puts the ongoing cost at £140 million a year, against roughly £26–31 million predicted, because more companies are in scope than expected (19,900 against 11,300) and per-business costs are higher, including outsourcing to consultancies and auditors.
For a real number, ask each shortlisted SECR consultant for a written quote against the same boundary, data set and deliverables.
Timing and what’s next
When to engage, and what may change
SECR needs a full year of energy data, so the practical work starts before or early in the financial year, not at filing.
The disclosure is due with the accounts: nine months after the year end for a private company and six months for a public company.
DESNZ’s 2026 post-implementation review recommends retaining SECR with amendments, and names five areas for a planned consultation — guidance on eligibility and boundaries, a standard template, alignment with ISSB, CSRD and TCFD, light forward-looking elements, and digital access — none of them decided.
Separately, the Modernising corporate reporting consultation proposes to remove the directors’ report, which would move SECR disclosures elsewhere in the annual report; the duty itself would not change.
Carbon Legal is an independent guide and prepares no SECR reports; it can introduce you to independent specialists, and you can contact us or book a free 15-minute call.
Frequently asked
SECR consultancy — frequently asked
What does a SECR consultant do?
A SECR consultant helps a company or LLP confirm whether it is in scope, fix the reporting boundary, collect a year of energy data, convert it to emissions with the government conversion factors, choose an intensity ratio, write the methodology and energy-efficiency narrative, and draft the SECR section of the directors’ report (or an LLP’s energy and carbon report) for the board to approve.
What is the difference between a SECR consultant and a SECR consultancy?
A SECR consultancy is the firm; a SECR consultant is the person who prepares the figures and the disclosure. The deliverable is the same. Either way, the disclosure belongs to the directors — or, for an LLP, the members — who approve it.
Do I need a SECR consultant?
Not by law. SECR requires a disclosure, not an adviser, and many companies prepare it in-house. A consultant is most useful when a company is newly in scope, reports globally as a quoted company, runs a parent-level group test, or has changed its boundary through an acquisition.
Is there an accredited SECR consultant?
No accreditation exists for SECR work. SECR requires no verification, UKAS accredits certification and verification bodies rather than consultants, and no register of SECR practitioners exists. Judge a SECR consultant on method: the conversion factors used, how the boundary is set, and how estimates are documented.
How much does SECR compliance cost?
DESNZ’s evaluation, restated in its 2026 post-implementation review, put the mean ongoing cost to a complying organisation at £7,100 a year, including about 94 hours of internal staff time, with 56% of compliers reporting external costs. No regulator publishes consultancy fees; ask for written quotes against the same scope.
When should we engage a SECR consultancy?
Before the financial year starts, or early in it. SECR needs a full year of energy data, and the disclosure is due with the accounts — nine months after the year end for a private company and six months for a public company.
Can SECR reporting software replace a consultant?
It can replace the calculation, not the judgement. The duty falls on the directors, not on any tool, so judge software on whether it produces what Schedule 7 asks for — the energy and emissions figures, the ratio, the methodology and the narrative — rather than on a “SECR-compliant” label.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner. Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
- legislation.gov.ukCompanies (Directors’ Report) and LLP (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/1155)
Created SECR; in force 1 April 2019.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2008/410, Schedule 7 — matters to be dealt with in the directors’ report
Parts 7 and 7A: the SECR disclosures, ratio, methodology and comparatives.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2008/410, Schedule 7, paragraph 20B — the SECR exemption test
Two or more of: not more than £36m turnover, £18m balance sheet, 250 employees.
- legislation.gov.ukCompanies Act 2006, section 496 — auditor’s report on the directors’ report
A consistency-and-legality opinion, not assurance over the emissions.
- legislation.gov.ukAccreditation Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/3155), regulation 3
UKAS is the national accreditation body; it accredits bodies, not consultants.
- Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroEnvironmental reporting guidelines, including SECR guidance
The government’s 2019 guidance; organisations are free to choose their own intensity ratio.
- Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroGovernment conversion factors for company reporting
The annual factors most SECR disclosures use.
- Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroIndependent evaluation of the SECR regulations (29 January 2026)
19,900 in scope; the costs of compliance.
- Department for Energy Security and Net Zero2026 Post-Implementation Review of the SECR Regulations 2018 (PDF)
Published 26 May 2026: retain with amendments; aggregate costs at pp12 and 26.
- GHG ProtocolCorporate Accounting and Reporting Standard
The inventory method many SECR methodologies cite.
- GOV.UKModernising corporate reporting — consultation (7 September 2026)
Proposes a new location for SECR disclosures; DESNZ to consult on SECR and ESOS later in 2026.
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