Template & Disclosure Examples
SECR Report Template & Disclosure Examples
A section-by-section SECR report template: the required-disclosure matrix for quoted companies, large unquoted companies and LLPs, a worked intensity-ratio example, model methodology wording and where it all sits in the directors' report.
What a SECR report template must contain
There is no prescribed statutory form — SI 2018/1155 fixes the content, and the government guidelines suggest the format. Seven elements make up a complete disclosure.
Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting has no official form to fill in. 1 The legal requirements come from the Companies (Directors' Report) and LLPs (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/1155), which specify what must be disclosed, while 2 HM Government's Environmental Reporting Guidelines suggest presentation formats and include example disclosures.
This page turns those two sources into a practical template: the disclosure matrix by entity type, a section-by-section walkthrough, a worked intensity-ratio illustration and model methodology wording. For the qualification tests that decide whether you need a SECR report at all, see SECR requirements; for the wider regime, start at the SECR section hub.
Required disclosures: quoted vs large unquoted vs LLP
Quoted companies report globally; large unquoted companies and LLPs report UK-only energy but pick up a mandatory grey-fleet Scope 3 element quoted companies do not.
The SECR report template, section by section
Seven building blocks in the order most published disclosures follow — energy first, emissions second, ratio and methodology, then the backward look and the narrative.
- 1. Energy consumptionkWh
- Total energy used in the period, broken down by source (purchased electricity, gas, transport fuel). Quoted companies state global energy; unquoted companies and LLPs state UK energy. Most reporters present a two-column table: current year and prior year.
- 2. GHG emissions — Scope 1 and Scope 2tCO2e
- Direct (Scope 1) and purchased-energy (Scope 2) emissions in tonnes CO2e, calculated by applying the DESNZ greenhouse gas conversion factors 2026 3 to the energy data. Large unquoted companies and LLPs add transport-related Scope 3 grey-fleet emissions.
- 3. Intensity ratioComparability
- At least one ratio expressing emissions against business activity — turnover, headcount, floor area or output. Worked example below. Keep the same denominator year on year.
- 4. Methodology statementNarrative
- A short paragraph identifying the standard followed — almost always the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard 4 — the conversion-factor set used, the consolidation approach (operational or financial control) and any estimations applied to fill data gaps.
- 5. Prior-year comparisonFrom year two
- Current-year and previous-year figures side by side for energy, emissions and the intensity ratio. Comment on material movements — including factor changes: the UK electricity factor moves annually, so Scope 2 can shift even when consumption is flat.
- 6. Energy-efficiency narrativeMandatory
- The principal energy-efficiency actions taken in the period — retrofits, fleet changes, controls, behavioural programmes — quantified where possible. If nothing was done, the report must say so explicitly.
- 7. Low-energy or omission statementsIf applicable
- Where the 40 MWh de minimis applies, or where specific data is omitted as seriously prejudicial or not practical to obtain, the report must state the omission and the reason instead of staying silent.
Most reporters build the numbers in a spreadsheet or in dedicated carbon reporting software, then lift the finished table and narrative into the annual report. The full preparation methodology sits in the SECR reporting guide.
SECR intensity ratio help
How to choose the denominator, how the calculation runs, and a fully illustrative worked example.
Every SECR disclosure needs at least one intensity ratio: total tCO2e divided by a measure of business activity. Pick the denominator readers of your accounts would find most meaningful — turnover for most businesses, full-time-equivalent employees for office-based firms, floor area for property portfolios, units of output for manufacturers — and hold it constant across years so the trend is readable.
Worked intensity-ratio example (illustrative)
An illustrative large unquoted company reports 320 tCO2e of Scope 1 emissions and 180 tCO2e of Scope 2 emissions — 500 tCO2e in total — against turnover of £40 million.
Its intensity ratio is 500 ÷ 40 = 12.5 tCO2e per £million turnover.
These figures are invented for illustration only and are not benchmarks for any sector.
SECR disclosure examples
Model methodology wording, and where to find real published examples to benchmark structure against.
The best free source of SECR disclosure examples is other companies' filed accounts: any large UK company's directors' report at Companies House from FY2019 onward contains one. The Environmental Reporting Guidelines also include worked illustrations for each disclosure element. A typical methodology statement follows the pattern below.
We have reported on all of the emission sources required under the Companies (Directors' Report) and LLPs (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018. Emissions have been calculated using the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard and the UK Government's 2026 greenhouse gas conversion factors, applying an operational-control consolidation approach.
Model SECR methodology wording — adapt to your own boundary and factor year
Treat published examples as structural models only. Your energy data, boundary decisions, estimations and efficiency actions must be your own — the FRC has flagged boilerplate narratives as falling short, a point covered in more depth under SECR compliance enforcement.
Where the SECR section goes in the directors' report
Inside the statutory directors' report, filed with the annual accounts — with a strategic-report cross-reference option and a standalone report route for LLPs.
- Companies — directors' reportDefault route
- The SECR table and narrative sit inside the directors' report of the annual report and accounts filed at Companies House. The content must be clearly identifiable as the energy and carbon disclosure.
- Strategic report elevationOptional
- Where energy and carbon are of strategic importance, the disclosure may be placed in the strategic report instead, provided the directors' report states that it has been relocated and cross-refers to it.
- LLPs — Energy and Carbon ReportSeparate document
- LLPs prepare an equivalent standalone Energy and Carbon Report attached to their annual accounts rather than amending a directors' report.
- TimingAnnual accounts cycle
- SECR follows the accounts: the disclosure is filed with the annual report under normal Companies House deadlines, so the SECR deadline is simply your accounts filing deadline. Deadline detail sits in SECR requirements.
Because the disclosure travels with the statutory accounts, a missing or deficient SECR section can make the wider filing non-compliant. The qualification tests, exemptions and deadline rules are set out in full in SECR requirements, and the calculation boundary rules in our GHG Protocol guide.
Is there an official SECR report template?
No.
SI 2018/1155 prescribes what a SECR disclosure must contain, not its format.
The government's Environmental Reporting Guidelines (HM Government, PB13944) include suggested presentation formats and example disclosures, but companies are free to design their own layout provided energy use, Scope 1 and 2 emissions, an intensity ratio, methodology, prior-year comparatives and the energy-efficiency narrative all appear in the directors' report.
What should a SECR report template include?
Seven elements: total energy consumption in kWh; Scope 1 emissions in tCO2e; Scope 2 emissions in tCO2e (plus transport-related Scope 3 grey-fleet emissions for large unquoted companies and LLPs); at least one intensity ratio; a methodology statement referencing the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard and the DESNZ conversion factors; prior-year comparatives from the second reporting year; and a narrative describing the principal energy-efficiency actions taken in the period.
Is there a SECR reporting template in Excel?
There is no statutory Excel template.
DESNZ publishes the annual greenhouse gas conversion factors as an Excel workbook, which most reporters use as the calculation engine behind their SECR figures.
Many companies collect meter readings, fuel invoices and mileage claims in a spreadsheet, but the disclosure itself is a short table-plus-narrative section inside the directors' report.
Carbon reporting software can automate the data collection and produce the disclosure tables directly.
What is a good SECR intensity ratio example?
tCO2e per £million of turnover is the most widely used SECR intensity ratio because it works across sectors and supports benchmarking.
Office-based businesses often use tCO2e per full-time-equivalent employee, property businesses use tCO2e or kWh per square metre, and manufacturers use tCO2e per tonne of product or unit produced.
Choose a denominator that reflects business activity and keep it consistent year on year.
Can I base my disclosure on other companies' SECR report examples?
Published directors' reports filed at Companies House are a legitimate source of SECR disclosure examples, and the Environmental Reporting Guidelines contain worked illustrations.
Use them for structure, not wording: the FRC has signalled that boilerplate energy-efficiency narratives copied between reports fall below the expected quality bar.
Your figures, boundary, methodology notes and efficiency actions must reflect your own operations.
Where does the SECR section go in the annual report?
In the directors' report of the statutory annual report and accounts.
LLPs prepare a standalone Energy and Carbon Report filed with their accounts.
Where energy and carbon are strategically material, the content may be moved to the strategic report with a clear cross-reference left in the directors' report.
Related guides & references
SECR — Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting
The SECR section hub: requirements, compliance, thresholds and the UK SRS S2 connection
SECR Requirements
Qualification thresholds, mandatory disclosures and the 40 MWh low-energy exemption
SECR Reporting Guide
The complete SECR reporting walkthrough from scope tests to directors’ report integration
Carbon Reporting Software
Platforms that automate SECR data collection, conversion factors and disclosure tables
GHG Protocol
The Corporate Standard behind SECR Scope 1 and 2 boundary-setting and consolidation