ESOS · Reporting and publication
ESOS reporting: what you file, what you keep, and what the public sees
ESOS reporting is not one document but five, spread across a phase: an ESOS report the participant keeps, a notification of compliance to the Environment Agency, a lead assessor’s completion notice, an action plan and three progress updates, all set by the ESOS Regulations 2014.
Some of what is notified is published, and since 22 July 2026 more of it than before.
The finder below shows every field of Schedule 3 and whether it goes in the report, to the regulator and onto the public record.
The reporting set
Five documents, four different readers
The word “reporting” covers several duties that run on different clocks and reach different readers.
The ESOS report is the participant’s own written record of the assessment, and it stays with the participant.
The notification of compliance is the filing: the information regulation 29 asks for on the participant’s route, sent through the Notification System the Environment Agency runs as MESOS.
The lead assessor files nothing with the regulator, but since 22 July 2026 must tell their own approval body that the assessment is complete.
After the notification come the action plan and, for Phase 4, three annual progress updates, each also filed through MESOS and each published in full.
The evidence pack is not a report at all, but every figure in the others has to be traceable to it, and it is kept for two further compliance periods.
How MESOS works, who can sign in and what each route files are on the ESOS notification page; this page follows the information itself.
| Document | Goes to | Published? | Provision |
|---|---|---|---|
| ESOS report | Kept; relevant parts to group members | No | regs 27A, 27C |
| Notification of compliance | Environment Agency, through MESOS | Marked fields only | reg 29; Sch 3 |
| Lead assessor’s completion notice | The assessor’s approval body | No | reg 21(2A) |
| Action plan | Environment Agency, through MESOS | Yes | reg 34A |
| Three progress updates | Environment Agency, through MESOS | Yes | reg 34B |
| Evidence pack | Kept; shown to a regulator on request | No | reg 28 |
The ESOS report
The ESOS report, read from regulation 27A
Regulation 27A requires a responsible undertaking to produce an ESOS report for each ESOS assessment, before the compliance date.
It was added by the 2023 amendments and does not apply to an assessment for a compliance period ending on or before 5 December 2019, so the first ESOS reports were Phase 3’s.
Every report must give the participant’s total energy consumption, any significant consumption in kWh with the percentage of the total it represents, and the energy intensity ratios.
It must also give an estimate of the energy savings achieved, which since 22 July 2026 is the estimate regulation 27D asks for, in kWh and measure by measure.
From Phase 4 the report also carries the participant’s action plan review: the measures in the last plan that were not and will not be implemented, and why.
Where an energy audit was done, the report records how the audit was carried out, the analysis, the opportunities found and the estimated annual reductions in energy spend and consumption, summed in total, by organisational purpose and by energy saving category.
Where ISO 50001 covers only part of consumption, the report records which assets and activities the certified system covers, its share of the total, and the measures the system recommends.
It also carries the column 1 fields of Schedule 3: the responsible undertaking’s name, the responsible officer’s name and title, the lead assessor and approved register, and anyone else who did a significant share of the work.
SI 2026/701 regulation 14 removed the duty altogether for a Phase 4 participant on the full ISO 50001 route or with zero energy consumption.
The Environment Agency’s own checklist, filtered by route in the panel, lists what it expects to see; the ESOS templates page sets out what it does and does not publish as a template.
ESOS report checklist · EA Appendices A1 and A2
How does the participant comply?
0 of 17 items ready.
Environment Agency, Appendices A1 and A2 (30 July 2026), filtered by route; SI 2014/1643 regs 27A, 33, 33A as amended.
Nothing you tick is saved.
Field by field
Who sees what: every row of Schedule 3
Schedule 3 has three columns for each piece of information: in the ESOS report, notified to the scheme administrator, and published.
Filter by table or by whether a field is published.
Schedule 3 · report, notified, published
59 of 59 rows · 31 of 59 are published
Table AName
Report: yesNotified: yesPublished: yes
Table AEmail address and telephone number
Report: noNotified: yesPublished: no
Table ARegistered office
Report: noNotified: yesPublished: yes
Table APrincipal place of activity, where there is no registered office
Report: noNotified: yesPublished: yes
Table ACompany registration number
Report: noNotified: yesPublished: yes
Table ATrading or other name commonly used
Report: noNotified: yesPublished: yes
Table AAt least two contacts, one of them the responsible officer
Report: noNotified: yesPublished: no
Table AName of a global parent the Regulations do not extend to, and its group’s name
Report: noNotified: yesPublished: yes
Table AStandard industrial classification code
Report: noNotified: yesPublished: yes
Table AWhy the undertaking is classed as large, or small or medium, under Schedule 1
Report: noNotified: yesPublished: yes
Table AName and registration number of the highest parent, if different
Report: yesNotified: yesPublished: yes
Inserted by SI 2026/701 reg 31(2)(b).
Table BNumber of relevant undertakings in the participant
Report: yesNotified: yesPublished: yes
Table BNames and registration numbers of those undertakings
Report: noNotified: yesPublished: yes
Table BA written aggregation agreement under Schedule 2, and the highest parents’ names
Report: noNotified: yesPublished: yes
Table BAny undertaking that left the participant after the qualification date
Report: noNotified: yesPublished: yes
Table BHow the undertakings in the participant relate to each other
Report: yesNotified: yesPublished: yes
Table BWhether the highest parent is in the participant, where it is not the responsible undertaking
Report: yesNotified: yesPublished: no
Inserted by SI 2026/701 reg 31(3)(b).
Table CName
Report: yesNotified: yesPublished: no
Table CFull title or position
Report: yesNotified: yesPublished: yes
Table CContact details
Report: noNotified: yesPublished: no
Table CDate the officer considered the audit recommendations
Report: noNotified: yesPublished: yes
Table DName
Report: yesNotified: yesPublished: no
Table DThe approved register
Report: yesNotified: yesPublished: yes
Table DWhether employed by the participant or a group undertaking
Report: noNotified: yesPublished: yes
Table EName of each person who did a significant share of site visits, data gathering or report drafting
Report: if recordedNotified: if recordedPublished: no
Table EWhether that person is employed by the participant or a group undertaking
Report: noNotified: if recordedPublished: no
Table FWhether, and how far, Part 6 (deemed compliance) was relied on
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: yes
Table FEstimates made under Part 4 and notified under reg 21A
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: yes
Table FSite visit details recorded under reg 26(9)(d), (e) and (f)
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: yes
“26(9)(d), (e)” substituted by SI 2026/701 reg 31(4).
Table FThat the audit has no analysis based on consumption profiles
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: no
Table FNon-disclosure to a group undertaking under reg 27C(3)(b)
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: no
Table FWhere 12 months’ verifiable data was not used, how far and why
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: no
Table GTotal energy consumption, in kWh
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: yes
Table GTotal consumption by organisational purpose
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: yes
Published from 22 July 2026: SI 2026/701 reg 31(5)(a).
Table GSignificant energy consumption, in kWh
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: yes
Table GSignificant consumption by organisational purpose
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: yes
Published from 22 July 2026: SI 2026/701 reg 31(5)(b).
Table GPercentage of total consumption that is significant
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: yes
Table GEnergy intensity ratios
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: yes
Table HSum of all estimated annual reductions in energy spend and consumption
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: yes
Table HThose estimates summed by organisational purpose
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: no
Table HThose estimates summed by energy saving category
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: no
Table IWhich assets or activities the certified system covers, and its share of total consumption
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: yes
Table ISavings measures from the certified system, summed by organisational purpose
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: no
Table ISavings measures from the certified system, summed in total
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: yes
Table ISavings measures from the certified system, summed by energy saving category
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: no
Table IISO 50001 certificate number and validity dates
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: no
Inserted by SI 2026/701 reg 31(7)(d).
Table JEnergy savings achieved in the period, in kWh (reg 27D(1))
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: yes
Table JShare of those savings by organisational purpose
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: no
Table JThe measures implemented
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: no
Table JEnergy saving category of each measure
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: no
Table JSavings in kWh from each measure
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: no
Table JMeasures in the current action plan not implemented
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: no
Table JWhy those measures were not implemented
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: no
Table JConfirmation that no undertaking required to produce a current plan did so
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: no
Table KConfirmation that all total or significant consumption is under the certified system
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: no
Table KISO 50001 certificate number and validity dates
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: no
Table KWhich assets or activities the certified system covers
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: no
Table KPercentage of total consumption under the certified system
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: no
Table KEstimated reductions from the certified system, by purpose, in total and by category
Report: —Notified: yesPublished: no
SI 2014/1643 Schedule 3 as substituted by SI 2023/1182 and amended by SI 2026/701 reg 31, read 1 October 2026.
Publication duty: reg 10(1)(c).
“—” means the statute leaves the report column blank for that table.
Nothing you type is saved.
The pattern is consistent: identity and scale are public, people and detail are not.
Names, registered offices, registration numbers, the reason the undertaking qualified, total and significant consumption, intensity ratios and the totals of savings found and achieved all appear on the published record.
Email addresses, telephone numbers, the responsible officer’s and lead assessor’s names, per-measure savings, the action plan review and the whole of Table K stay with the regulator.
SI 2026/701 moved the line in both directions: consumption by organisational purpose became public, while the new Table K for the ISO 50001 route publishes nothing.
The action plan and progress updates are different: regulation 10(1)(d) and (e) publish each one, not selected fields from it.
The public record
When it is published, and where to find it
Regulation 10(2) sets an outer limit rather than a date: six months beginning with the relevant deadline, or with the date the information was notified if that is later.
The Environment Agency’s Phase 4 guidance names 10 June 2028 as the publication date for the fourth compliance period.
Read literally, six months beginning with 5 December 2027 ends on 4 June 2028; the guidance gives no reason for the later date, and both are stated here with their sources.
Late or corrected submissions are published within six months of receipt, the guidance says.
What publication looks like in practice is visible in the Phase 3 dataset on data.gov.uk: three workbooks covering compliance notifications, action plans and first progress updates, from a 5 June 2026 data cut.
Phase 4 publishes more fields than that dataset shows, so it is not a guide to what a Phase 4 notification will reveal.
Penalties are published separately, in the Environment Agency’s climate change civil penalties dataset, which covers ESOS alongside UK ETS, CCAs and F-gas; the GOV.UK page describes its summary as covering penalties imposed in England.
What a missed filing costs is on the ESOS penalties page.
| What | Published within | Phase 4 date |
|---|---|---|
| Notified Schedule 3 fields | 6 months from the compliance date, or from notification if later | 10 June 2028 (Environment Agency) |
| Action plans | 6 months from the plan deadline, or from notification if later | After 5 December 2028 |
| Progress updates | 6 months from each update deadline, or from notification if later | After each December deadline |
| Civil penalties | Named for at least a year | As imposed |
A cycle, not a filing
Each report reads the last one back
ESOS reporting runs in a loop that the 2026 amendments closed.
The Phase 4 report must estimate the savings achieved during the period, which for most participants means measures from the Phase 3 action plan.
It must also review that plan: regulation 27E defines the “current ESOS action plan” as the plan produced for the previous compliance period.
A participant that was not a participant in the previous period does not have to estimate savings achieved, under regulation 27D(3).
The Phase 4 action plan then covers 6 December 2027 to 5 December 2031, and its three updates report against it each December.
The Phase 5 report, due by 5 December 2031, will read that plan back in turn.
The windows in the panel come from Part 6A; the ESOS action plan and progress report pages take each document in depth.
Windows from regulations 34A and 34B
Notification related to 6 December 2023 – 5 December 2027.
The relevant compliance period is therefore 6 December 2027 – 5 December 2031.
| Duty | Window, and its last day |
|---|---|
| Action plan reg 34A(7)(b) | 6 December 2027 – 5 December 2028 by 5 December 2028 |
| Initial progress update reg 34B(1)(a) | 6 December 2028 – 5 December 2029 by 5 December 2029 |
| Further progress update reg 34B(1)(b) | 6 December 2029 – 5 December 2030 by 5 December 2030 |
| Final progress update reg 34B(1)(c), inserted by SI 2026/701 reg 28 | 6 December 2030 – 5 December 2031 by 5 December 2031 |
Each date is the last day of a statutory window, not a single filing day.
Phase 4, in order
Every reporting date from now to 2031
- 5 Dec 2026Phase 3 second progress update
The last Phase 3 filing, under regulation 34B(1)(b).
- 31 Dec 2026Phase 4 qualification date
Size is tested on this day; the notification window opens after it.
- Before 5 Dec 2027ESOS report produced; lead assessor review
Then the assessor’s seven-day notice to their approval body.
- 5 Dec 2027Notification of compliance
Through MESOS, with the responsible officer’s confirmation.
- 10 Jun 2028Phase 4 notification data published
The Environment Agency’s stated date.
- 5 Dec 2028Action plan
Covering 6 December 2027 to 5 December 2031.
- 5 Dec 2029Initial progress update
- 5 Dec 2030Further progress update
- 5 Dec 2031Final progress update, and the Phase 5 notification
The Phase 5 report reviews the Phase 4 plan.
Every date and the rule behind it, back to 2014, is on the ESOS deadlines page.
Who signs
Who confirms each report, and on what basis
The notification must include a responsible officer’s confirmation that the participant is in scope, that the undertaking has complied and that the information is correct.
Since 22 July 2026 the officer also confirms they have seen and considered the audit recommendations, where there are any, and any certified energy management system relied on.
One officer is enough where the lead assessor is independent of the participant, and two are needed in any other case.
The action plan and each progress update carry a confirmation by “the responsible officer”, singular, under regulations 34A(8) and 34B(7).
The Environment Agency’s guidance asks for the same number of directors as for the notification, though not necessarily the same people.
The Regulations fix no number for those later filings, so the guidance’s reading is the one participants are measured against in practice.
Templates and examples
What the regulator provides, and what it leaves to you
The Environment Agency publishes report checklists as Appendices A1 and A2 to its Phase 4 guidance, and a suggested format for audit recommendations as Appendix A3, which it says is not mandatory to use.
Appendix B sets out what the notification must contain in the format MESOS asks for.
There is no prescribed ESOS report template, and no published example report, because the report stays with the participant.
The nearest thing to a public example is the Phase 3 dataset, which shows the published fields for thousands of participants.
Many organisations keep the data behind every report in energy management software; the ESOS software page covers what such tools do and what they cannot do for you.
Edges
Corrections, net zero, and other regimes
A submitted notification is corrected by contacting the Environment Agency; its guidance says there is no charge for notifying, and that regulators cannot amend the compliance deadline.
A voluntary net zero assessment under PAS 51215-1 and -2:2025 cannot be reported through MESOS at all, the GOV.UK ESOS page says, though an organisation may publish it elsewhere.
ESOS reporting is not annual and does not go in the company’s annual report; the annual energy and carbon disclosure is SECR, compared line by line on the ESOS vs SECR page.
The same energy data can serve a listed company’s climate disclosures, with care over units, boundaries and periods, as the ESOS and UK SRS page explains.
“Nothing in ESOS is published” is wrong: names, consumption, ratios, savings totals, action plans and progress updates are all on the public record.
Check yourself
Six statements about ESOS reporting
Each statement turns on a specific provision, named under the answer.
The assessment behind the reports, step by step, is on the ESOS assessment page, and the audit itself on the ESOS energy audit page.
For the guidance documents and which one governs each step, see the ESOS compliance guidance page.
The scheme as a whole is set out on the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme page.
The underlying instruments are SI 2023/1182, which created most of the reporting set, and SI 2026/701, which added Tables J and K; the regulator’s reading is the Phase 4 guidance, with Phase 3 duties still in the Phase 3 guidance and current sign-in details on the GOV.UK ESOS page and MESOS itself.
True or false?
01The ESOS report is filed with the Environment Agency.
02Per-measure savings achieved are published.
03From Phase 4, consumption by organisational purpose is published.
04Nothing an ISO 50001-route participant notifies in Table K is published.
05Action plans are published in summary only.
06Under the Regulations, the lead assessor has a reporting duty of their own.
6 statements.
Pick an answer to see the provision behind it.
Answers rest on the provisions named beside each one.
Nothing you pick is saved.
Frequently asked
ESOS reporting, answered
What is ESOS reporting?
ESOS reporting is the set of records and filings the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme requires in each four-year phase: the ESOS report, which the participant keeps; the notification of compliance, filed with the Environment Agency through MESOS; the lead assessor’s own completion notice to their approval body; and, after the notification, an action plan and annual progress updates.
Parts of the notification and all action plans and progress updates are published.
What is an ESOS report?
An ESOS report is the written record of an ESOS assessment that regulation 27A of the ESOS Regulations 2014 requires.
It records total energy consumption, any significant consumption and its percentage, the energy intensity ratios, savings achieved since the previous compliance date and, from Phase 4, a review of the previous action plan, together with the audit findings or the ISO 50001 information.
It is kept by the participant, not sent to the regulator, and must be produced before the compliance date.
Is the ESOS report sent to the Environment Agency?
No. The ESOS report is kept in the participant’s records and the relevant parts are shared with group undertakings under regulation 27C.
What goes to the Environment Agency is the notification of compliance, which carries the Schedule 3 information for the participant’s route, and later the action plan and progress updates.
Is ESOS information published?
Yes, in part.
Regulation 10 requires the Environment Agency to publish the Schedule 3 fields marked for publication, every action plan and every progress update.
Published fields include the organisation’s name and registration number, total and significant energy consumption in kWh, consumption by organisational purpose from Phase 4, intensity ratios, the total of estimated savings found by the audit and the total savings achieved.
Personal contact details, per-measure savings and the action plan review are not published.
When will Phase 4 ESOS data be published?
The Regulations require publication within six months beginning with the compliance date, 5 December 2027, or with the date of notification if later.
The Environment Agency’s Phase 4 guidance names 10 June 2028 as the publication date for the fourth compliance period.
Action plans and progress updates are published within six months of their own deadlines.
When is ESOS reporting due for Phase 4?
The notification of compliance is due by 5 December 2027.
The action plan is due by 5 December 2028, and the three progress updates by 5 December 2029, 5 December 2030 and 5 December 2031.
Phase 3 participants also owe a second progress update by 5 December 2026.
Is there an ESOS report template?
The Environment Agency publishes report checklists for participants as Appendices A1 and A2 to its Phase 4 guidance, and a suggested format for audit recommendations as Appendix A3, which it says is not mandatory.
There is no prescribed template for the ESOS report itself; its contents are set by regulation 27A and Schedule 3.
Who signs ESOS reporting off?
The notification is confirmed by one or two responsible officers: one where the lead assessor is independent of the participant, two in any other case or where no lead assessor was needed because consumption was under 40,000 kWh.
Action plans and progress updates are confirmed by the responsible officer; the Environment Agency’s guidance asks for the same number of directors as for the notification.
Does an ISO 50001 participant still report?
Yes.
Where ISO 50001 covers all total or significant consumption, Phase 4 participants need no lead assessor, energy audit or ESOS report, but must still notify compliance using Tables A, C, F, G, J and K of Schedule 3, then produce an action plan and progress updates.
Can a net zero assessment be reported through ESOS?
Not through MESOS.
The GOV.UK ESOS page says participants may voluntarily include net zero considerations using PAS 51215-1 and -2:2025, but that MESOS does not allow reporting of voluntary decarbonisation assessments; organisations may publish them in their own reports or websites.
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.ukThe Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/1643)
The instrument every reporting duty sits in.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2014/1643, regulation 27A — the ESOS report
What the report must contain, and when it is not required.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2014/1643, regulation 27C — disclosure to group undertakings
Which parts of the report go to each group member.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2014/1643, regulation 29 — notification of compliance
What each route notifies, and the window for it.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2014/1643, regulation 10 — publication of information
What the scheme administrator publishes, and the six-month clock.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2014/1643, Schedule 3 — information to be reported, notified and published
The field-by-field table behind the finder on this page.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2014/1643, Part 6A — action plans and progress updates
The plan’s contents and the three update windows.
- legislation.gov.ukThe Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/1182)
Introduced the ESOS report, ratios, action plans and the publication clock.
- legislation.gov.ukThe Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/701)
Regs 14, 17, 20, 28 and 31: the report’s new contents, Tables J and K, the third update.
- Environment AgencyHow to comply with the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) phase 4
The regulator’s reading, including the 10 June 2028 publication date and how corrections are made.
- Environment AgencyAppendices A1 and A2: report checklists for participants
The checklist the report panel filters by route.
- Environment AgencyComplying with ESOS: phase 3
The Phase 3 guidance, still the source for the 5 December 2026 update.
- GOV.UK (Environment Agency)Energy savings opportunity scheme (ESOS): find out if you qualify and how to comply
MESOS sign-in, and the note that voluntary net zero assessments cannot be reported.
- Environment AgencyManage your ESOS reporting (MESOS)
The Notification System in practice.
- Environment Agency (data.gov.uk)Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme — published Phase 3 data
What publication looks like: notifications, action plans and first progress updates.
- Environment Agency (data.gov.uk)Climate change civil penalties
Where an ESOS penalty is published, alongside other climate schemes.