SECR is a small disclosure that takes a surprising amount of chasing.
Energy use, Scope 1 and 2 emissions and an intensity ratio, for the Directors' Report. The figures are simple. Collecting them across sites, meters and supplier statements every year is the part that consumes the time. EcoLedger turns it into a repeatable process.
Six things have to appear, and one of them is a sentence about method.
SECR is prescriptive about content and quiet about process, which is why the same organisations rebuild the working papers every year.
- 01Total energy use, in kWh, for the reporting period
- 02Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions, in tonnes of CO₂ equivalent
- 03At least one intensity ratio, chosen to suit the business
- 04The previous year's figures, once a first year has been reported
- 05A narrative on the energy efficiency measures taken in the period
- 06The methodology used, stated explicitly
Emissions are reported globally, with an intensity ratio, and energy use is reported for the United Kingdom and offshore area.
Energy use and the associated Scope 1 and 2 emissions for the United Kingdom and offshore area, with an intensity ratio. The size test is met by satisfying at least two of three thresholds.
Where energy use in the period is at or below the low energy threshold, the disclosure can be replaced by a statement to that effect. It still has to be stated.
Confirm which category applies to your entity with your advisers before relying on the reduced disclosures.
From a meter reading to a paragraph in the Directors' Report.
Five steps, run once a year, by people who mostly do something else for the rest of it. The value is in the steps being the same every year.
Meter readings, supplier statements, fuel cards and mileage, imported in bulk from a template rather than re keyed from bills.
DESNZ factors matched to the reporting year, applied consistently across every site and entity, with supplier specific values used where they exist.
Site and subsidiary figures roll up to a group total, with the same figures also available at the level they were collected.
Gaps, outliers and missing periods are flagged before the numbers reach the Directors' Report rather than after someone queries them.
Energy, emissions, intensity ratio, comparatives and a stated methodology, exported ready for the Directors' Report.
The statement, and the inventory that supports it.
The SECR figures sit on a full greenhouse gas inventory, so the numbers in the Directors' Report can be traced to the activity data behind them.
- ENERGYTotal energy use in kWh, by site and by entity
- SCOPE 1Combustion, fugitive and process emissions
- SCOPE 2Location based and market based, with the basis stated
- RATIOAn intensity ratio at entity and group level
- METHODA basis of preparation setting out boundaries, factors and assumptions
How the SECR figures get built.
Every factor visible, and overridable.
DESNZ factors matched to the reporting year are applied across every site and entity. Each factor is shown against the figure it produced and can be replaced with a supplier specific value where you have one.
- DESNZ and IEA factors, refreshed each reporting year
- Scope 1 combustion, fugitive and process emissions
- Scope 2 on both location and market basis
- Supplier specific factors applied where available
Sites and subsidiaries, without a master spreadsheet.
Each site or subsidiary is set up as its own entity and rolls up to a group inventory, so the group total and the site level detail come from the same place and cannot drift apart between versions.
- Entity by entity data ownership with group level totals
- Intensity ratios at entity and group level
- One factor edition applied consistently
- Bulk CSV import from a ready made template
Collect. Calculate. Report.
See how the SECR figures are producedOne site is a form. Forty sites is a process.
Most of the difficulty in SECR is administrative rather than technical: chasing readings, reconciling part periods, handling a site that opened in August, and explaining why the intensity ratio moved.
See which sites and periods are still missing data before the reporting deadline, rather than discovering it in the review.
Prior year figures keep the factor edition they were reported on, so a movement in the intensity ratio can be explained rather than defended.
Next year is the same structure with new data, which matters when the person who did it last year has moved on.
The same inventory also supports UK SRS and wider climate reporting when that arrives.
SECR reporting in EcoLedger.
- Total energy use in kWh
- Scope 1, all sources
- Scope 2, location and market
- Intensity ratios
- Prior year comparatives
- DESNZ and IEA factors
- Supplier specific factors
- Bulk CSV import
- Multi site consolidation
- Gap and outlier checks
- Basis of preparation export
- Word, PDF and Excel output
What exactly has to appear in the Directors' Report?
Total energy use in kWh, Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions in tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, at least one intensity ratio, the previous year's figures once a first year has been reported, a narrative on energy efficiency measures taken in the period, and a statement of the methodology used. Quoted companies report emissions globally, while large unquoted companies and LLPs report on United Kingdom and offshore energy use and the associated emissions.
Which emission factors are used?
DESNZ factors matched to the reporting year, applied consistently across every entity, with IEA grid factors for international operations. Every factor is shown against the figure it produced and can be overridden with a supplier specific value where you hold one.
Can it handle multiple sites or subsidiaries?
Yes, and that is the case it is built for. Each site or subsidiary is set up as its own entity and consolidates into a single group inventory, with totals and intensity ratios available at both levels.
Can we import data rather than type it?
Yes. A bulk CSV import with a ready made template brings in activity data directly, rather than re keying it from bills and supplier statements. Gaps, outliers and missing periods are flagged before the figures are used.
Does this help if we later have to report under UK SRS?
Yes. The same inventory that produces the SECR figures supports wider climate disclosure, including Scope 3 and the metrics UK SRS S2 expects, so a later requirement builds on the record you already have rather than starting again.
Bring last year's SECR working papers. We will show you next year without them.
Bring the spreadsheet, the supplier statements or the site list. We will map it into the EcoLedger process and show you what the figures and the basis of preparation would look like.