Timeline · 2014 to 2033
The UK sustainability regulation timeline, dated and sourced
UK sustainability reporting is not one rule with one deadline: it is a decade of overlapping regimes, and the one with the most attention, UK SRS, now has final FCA rules.
Listed companies in scope report against UK SRS on a comply-or-explain basis for periods from 1 January 2027, with first reporting in 2028.
This page puts every UK date in one register, says which are law and which are estimates, and links each to its owner.
The register
Every date, filtered by regime
The register beside this holds fifty dates from 2014 to 2030, each with a status and the body that owns it.
“Fixed in law or rules” means a statute, statutory instrument or FCA rule sets the date.
“Announced by the owner” means the body running the work has said when, without a rule behind it.
“Owner’s estimate” means a quarter or a month, and those move: the GHG Protocol’s end-2027 plan became Q4 2028 within a year.
Choose “Today onwards” to see only what is still ahead, with a day count for each dated item.
Dates that come from our own arithmetic — the first calendar-year UK SRS report, the end of the reliefs — say so in the entry.
The register · filter by regime
50 dates shown.
- 2014Happened
ESOS begins
The ESOS Regulations 2014 start four-yearly energy assessments for large undertakings.
Source: SI 2014/1643
- 29 June 2017Happened
TCFD recommendations published
The four pillars — governance, strategy, risk management, metrics and targets — that UK SRS still uses.
Source: FSB, TCFD final report
- 1 April 2019Happened
SECR applies
Energy and carbon reporting in the directors’ report for financial years beginning on or after this date.
Source: SI 2018/1155
- 3 November 2021Happened
ISSB formed
Announced by the IFRS Foundation Trustees at COP26.
Source: IFRS Foundation
- June 2023Happened
IFRS S1 and S2 issued
The global baseline UK SRS S1 and S2 are built on.
Source: IFRS Foundation
- 12 October 2023Happened
TCFD disbanded
The FSB asked the IFRS Foundation to take over monitoring of companies’ climate disclosures.
Source: FSB
- 6 December 2023Happened
ESOS Phase 4 opens
The compliance period runs to 5 December 2027.
Source: SI 2014/1643 reg 4
- 31 May 2024Happened
Anti-greenwashing rule
ESG 4.3.1R applies to all FCA-authorised firms: sustainability references must be fair, clear and not misleading.
Source: FCA Handbook ESG 4.3.1R
- 31 July 2024Happened
SDR labels available
Qualifying managers may use the four sustainability labels.
Source: FCA Handbook ESG 4.1.1R
- 2 December 2024Happened
SDR naming and marketing rules
Thirteen terms restricted in retail fund names and promotions; unlabelled funds may still use most of them on conditions.
Source: FCA Handbook ESG 4.3
- 25 June 2025Happened
Three consultations open
UK SRS exposure drafts, assurance oversight, and transition plan requirements; the transition plan consultation closed on 17 September 2025.
- 15 July 2025Happened
No UK green taxonomy
HM Treasury concludes that work to develop a UK taxonomy should not proceed.
Source: HM Treasury
- 21 October 2025Happened
Modernisation of Corporate Reporting announced
Written Ministerial Statement HCWS973 promises a broad consultation in 2026.
Source: HCWS973
- 12 November 2025Happened
ISSA (UK) 5000 issued
The FRC’s sustainability assurance standard, for voluntary use; effective 15 December 2026.
Source: FRC
- 2 December 2025Happened
First SDR entity-level reports
Due from enhanced-SMCR asset managers.
Source: FCA Handbook ESG 5.4.3R
- 15 December 2025Happened
ESG Ratings Order made
SI 2025/1349 makes providing an ESG rating a regulated activity from 29 June 2028.
Source: SI 2025/1349
- 1 January 2026Happened
New CCA scheme: target period 7
Climate change agreements restart with targets against a 2022 base year.
Source: SI 2025/813 reg 2
- 29 January 2026Happened
SECR evaluation published
DESNZ measures about 19,900 companies in scope.
Source: DESNZ
- 30 January 2026Happened
FCA CP26/5 and the assurance response
The FCA consults on UK SRS for listed companies (closed 20 March 2026); the government responds on assurance oversight.
Source: FCA CP26/5
- 25 February 2026Happened
UK SRS S1 and S2 published
The Department for Business and Trade publishes the final standards for voluntary use.
Source: DBT
- 1 April 2026Happened
Plastic Packaging Tax at £228.82 a tonne
The annual uprating of the rate.
Source: Finance Act 2021 Part 2
- 26 May 2026Happened
SECR post-implementation review
Recommends retaining SECR with amendments; no SI or consultation has followed.
Source: DESNZ PIR
- 1 July 2026Happened
UK ETS reaches maritime
Ships of 5,000 gross tonnage and above on domestic voyages and in port.
Source: SI 2026/392
- 5 August 2026Happened
PPN 026 Social Value Model published
The new edition of the model for central government procurement; it applies to procurements commenced on or after 1 January 2027.
Source: PPN 026
- 26 August 2026Happened
Waste incineration will not join the UK ETS in 2028
The UK ETS Authority promises a new timeline in due course.
Source: UK ETS Authority
- 7 September 2026Happened
Modernising corporate reporting consultation opens
Closes 30 November 2026; it proposes no UK SRS threshold for private companies.
Source: GOV.UK consultation
- 24 September 2026Happened
FCA instrument made
UK Listing Rules (Sustainability Reporting Standards Disclosure) Instrument 2026, in force 1 January 2027.
Source: FCA PS26/19
- 30 September 2026Happened
FCA PS26/19: final rules
Listed companies in UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22 report against UK SRS on a comply-or-explain basis.
Source: FCA PS26/19
- October 2026Announced by the owner
Digital waste tracking for receivers
Mandatory for permitted and licensed waste receivers in England and Wales; January 2027 in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Source: Defra
- October 2026Announced by the owner
ISSB nature draft
A draft IFRS Practice Statement, not a Standard, for public consultation.
Source: IFRS Foundation
- 28 October 2026Announced by the owner
Comments due on draft TN 803.1
The FCA’s draft comply-or-explain guidance in Primary Market Bulletin 66.
Source: FCA PS26/19
- 30 November 2026Announced by the owner
Corporate reporting consultation closes
The government’s consultation on modernising corporate reporting.
Source: GOV.UK consultation
- 2 December 2026Fixed in law or rules
SDR entity reports, £5bn+ managers
Other asset managers with £5bn or more under management, on a three-year rolling average.
Source: FCA Handbook ESG 5.4.3R
- 15 December 2026Fixed in law or rules
ISSA (UK) 5000 effective
For engagements where assurance is commissioned; no one is required to obtain it.
Source: FRC
- 31 December 2026Fixed in law or rules
ESOS Phase 4 qualification date
Size and group structure are tested on this date.
Source: SI 2014/1643 reg 4
- 1 January 2027Fixed in law or rules
UK SRS listing rules in force
They apply to accounting periods beginning on or after this date; one year of Scope 3 relief and two years for non-climate UK SRS S1 run from first application.
Source: FCA PS26/19
- 1 January 2027Fixed in law or rules
UK CBAM begins
A tax on imports of aluminium, cement, fertilisers, hydrogen, and iron and steel.
Source: HMRC, CBAM policy summary
- 1 January 2027Fixed in law or rules
CCA target period 8; three new processes
Plastics recycling, spirits packaging and automotive battery cells can join.
Source: SI 2026/826
- 31 March 2027Fixed in law or rules
Simpler Recycling for micro-firms
The exemption for workplaces with fewer than ten full-time-equivalent employees ends in England.
Source: SI 2025/140
- 1 April 2027Fixed in law or rules
Plastic Packaging Tax: mass balance
Chemically recycled content can count through mass balance; pre-consumer waste stops counting.
Source: Finance Act 2026 s 104
- Q2 2027 (estimated)Owner’s estimate
GHG Protocol and ISO draft standard
A single co-branded corporate standard opens for public consultation.
Source: GHG Protocol
- 1 October 2027Fixed in law or rules
Deposit Return Scheme starts
For drinks containers in England and Northern Ireland, under SI 2025/67: aluminium, steel and PET, not glass.
Source: SI 2025/67 reg 1
- 5 December 2027Fixed in law or rules
ESOS Phase 4 compliance date
Assessment complete and notified to the Environment Agency.
Source: SI 2014/1643 reg 4
- 1 January 2028Fixed in law or rules
UK CBAM registration opens
A business whose 2027 imports reached £50,000 or more registers by 31 January 2028.
Source: HMRC
- 30 April 2028Fixed in law or rules
First UK SRS reports, calendar-year companies
The annual financial report is public within four months of year end, so a 2027 calendar-year report is due by this date — our arithmetic.
Source: DTR 4.1.3R
- 30 April 2028Fixed in law or rules
First maritime surrender
Allowances for emissions from 1 July 2026 to 31 December 2027 together.
- 31 May 2028Fixed in law or rules
First UK CBAM return and payment
Covers all of 2027.
Source: HMRC
- 29 June 2028Fixed in law or rules
ESG ratings regulated
Providing an ESG rating becomes a regulated activity; providers need FCA authorisation.
Source: SI 2025/1349
- Q4 2028 (estimated)Owner’s estimate
GHG Protocol corporate standard published
The owners’ estimate, replacing the earlier end-2027 plan.
Source: GHG Protocol
- 31 December 2030Fixed in law or rules
Last CCA target period ends
The Environment Agency administers the scheme to 31 March 2033.
Source: SI 2025/813 reg 2
Day counts use your device’s date.
“Owner’s estimate” means the body that owns the work gave a quarter or month, not a day.
Nothing you choose is stored or sent.
2014 to 2023
The foundations: energy, carbon and four pillars
The architecture began well before UK SRS.
The ESOS Regulations 2014 required large undertakings to assess their energy use every four years, and the scheme is now in Phase 4.
The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures published its recommendations in June 2017, and its four pillars — governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets — are still the spine of UK SRS S2.
Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting put energy use and emissions into the directors’ report for financial years beginning on or after 1 April 2019; see the SECR reporting guide.
The ISSB was formed on 3 November 2021 and issued IFRS S1 and S2 in June 2023 — the global baseline traced on global sustainability standards.
The TCFD was disbanded on 12 October 2023, with the IFRS Foundation taking over monitoring of companies’ climate disclosures; TCFD to UK SRS maps what carried over.
2024 to 2025
The build-out: funds, ratings, consultations
The FCA’s anti-greenwashing rule, ESG 4.3.1R, has applied to every authorised firm since 31 May 2024; the SDR and anti-greenwashing page covers it.
The four sustainability labels became available on 31 July 2024, the naming and marketing rules followed from 2 December 2024, and the first entity-level reports were due from the largest asset managers on 2 December 2025.
On 25 June 2025 the government opened three consultations together: the UK SRS exposure drafts, the oversight of assurance, and transition plan requirements.
On 15 July 2025 HM Treasury decided that work on a UK green taxonomy should not proceed; the green taxonomy page explains what replaced it.
The Modernisation of Corporate Reporting programme was announced by written statement on 21 October 2025, promising a broad consultation in 2026.
The FRC issued ISSA (UK) 5000 on 12 November 2025, and the ESG Ratings Order was made on 15 December 2025.
2026
The year the rules were settled, and the year many regimes widened
The FCA published CP26/5 on 30 January 2026, and on the same day the government published its response on assurance oversight.
The Department for Business and Trade published UK SRS S1 and S2 on 25 February 2026, as UK SRS S1 and UK SRS S2, for voluntary use by any entity.
The FCA made its instrument on 24 September 2026 and published PS26/19 on 30 September 2026, finalising comply or explain across all of UK SRS for UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22.
CP26/5 had proposed mandatory UK SRS S2 climate reporting; the final rules did not keep it, and UK SRS and the FCA sets out what changed.
Outside UK SRS, 2026 widened several regimes at once: a new climate change agreement scheme on 1 January and the UK ETS reaching maritime on 1 July, while PPN 026, published on 5 August, sets the social value model for central government procurements from 1 January 2027.
The government’s modernising corporate reporting consultation runs from 7 September to 30 November 2026.
Before the year ends: entity-level SDR reports from managers with £5bn or more on 2 December, ISSA (UK) 5000 taking effect on 15 December, and the ESOS qualification date on 31 December.
Your first UK SRS period
From a year end to a first report
The FCA’s rules attach to accounting periods, not to calendar dates, so the first in-scope period depends on the company’s year end.
The rules apply to periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027; first application is the period beginning in 2027.
The listing rules then give four months: DTR 4.1.3R requires the annual financial report to be public within four months of the end of the financial year.
For a calendar-year company that puts the first UK SRS report at 30 April 2028 at the latest.
A company with a 31 March year end has its first in-scope period from 1 April 2027, and its first report is due by 31 July 2028.
The reliefs run from first application: one year for Scope 3 under UK SRS S2, and two years for non-climate matters under UK SRS S1; the calculator works the dates.
A company using a relief says so, and need give no further explanation during the relief period.
No regulator publishes a timetable for preparing the report itself; the data year begins on the first day of the first period, which is the date that matters for systems.
The four pillars and their disclosures are explained on UK SRS S1 and UK SRS S1 and S2; Scope 3 timing is on Scope 3 under UK SRS.
Your first three periods · PS26/19
- Period beginning 1 January 2027
to 31 December 2027
First period under the rules. Climate disclosures under UK SRS S2, or explain. Both reliefs available: state that you use them, no further explanation needed.
- Period beginning 1 January 2028
to 31 December 2028
The one-year Scope 3 relief has run out. Scope 3 is comply or explain like everything else. The UK SRS S1 relief beyond climate is still available.
- Period beginning 1 January 2029
to 31 December 2029
Both reliefs have run out. Every UK SRS S1 and S2 disclosure is comply or explain. Nothing becomes mandatory.
The first annual financial report under the rules covers the period ending 31 December 2027, so it is published after that date, in 2028.
For a calendar year these are the dates in FCA PS26/19 ¶¶3.12, 3.23 and 3.24.
Twelve-month periods assumed.
2027 and beyond
What is fixed, and what is still an estimate
| Date | What | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | UK SRS listing rules in force; UK CBAM begins; CCA target period 8 | Law |
| 31 March 2027 | Simpler Recycling reaches micro-firms in England | Law |
| 1 April 2027 | Plastic Packaging Tax mass balance; pre-consumer waste stops counting | Law |
| Q2 2027 | GHG Protocol and ISO consolidated draft opens for consultation | Estimate |
| 1 October 2027 | Deposit Return Scheme starts in England and Northern Ireland | Law |
| 5 December 2027 | ESOS Phase 4 compliance date | Law |
| 1 January 2028 | UK CBAM registration opens | Law |
| 30 April 2028 | First UK SRS reports, calendar-year companies | Our arithmetic from DTR 4.1.3R |
| 31 May 2028 | First UK CBAM return and payment | Law |
| 29 June 2028 | Providing an ESG rating becomes regulated | Law |
| Q4 2028 | GHG Protocol and ISO corporate standard | Estimate |
| 31 December 2030 | Last CCA target period ends | Law |
The GHG Protocol and ISO are now consolidating into one corporate standard, which is why the earlier end-2027 date has gone; see the GHG Protocol page.
The ISSB’s nature work is now a draft IFRS Practice Statement, aimed for October 2026, not a Standard; TNFD covers the framework it draws on.
No date has been set for transition plans: the government’s consultation closed on 17 September 2025 and it is analysing feedback, and the climate transition plan page covers what PS26/19 asks.
Nothing proposes UK SRS for private companies: the modernising corporate reporting consultation sets no threshold or date for them.
SECR and ESOS
The energy regimes keep running alongside
SECR is annual, every financial year, in the directors’ report, and the 2026 post-implementation review recommends keeping it with amendments.
ESOS runs in four-year phases: Phase 4’s qualification date is 31 December 2026 and its compliance date is 5 December 2027, as the Environment Agency’s ESOS guidance and the regulations set out.
Neither regime is replaced by UK SRS, and a listed company may owe all three; ESOS compliance guidance covers the Phase 4 steps.
The through-line
Converging on UK SRS, without replacing the rest
The through-line is consolidation of climate and sustainability disclosure onto UK SRS, which carries the ISSB baseline into UK listing rules.
Around it sit separate regimes with their own dates: SDR for investment products, the ESG ratings regime, energy reporting and assessment, carbon pricing, and packaging and waste.
Each of those keeps its own clock, which is why one register is more useful than one deadline.
The wider picture of how they connect is on UK sustainability reporting and ESG reporting.
Further reading
Commentary we have read, not relied on
The links below are law-firm, consultancy and vendor commentary; every date on this page comes from the primary sources in the register and the sources list, and some of these pieces predate PS26/19.
Slaughter and May, sustainability reporting in 2026 — a horizon scan.
Taylor Wessing on UK SRS — written in March 2026, before the final rules.
Linklaters, SDR and the anti-greenwashing rule.
Macfarlanes on the end of the UK green taxonomy.
Paul Hastings on the ESG ratings regime.
Seedling’s guide to UK SRS and Ecologi on SECR — vendor guides.
Socious, an ISSB adoption tracker — check jurisdictions against the IFRS Foundation.
From the GHG Protocol itself: its standard development updates and the Scope 2 consultation note.
Test yourself
Eight dates people get wrong, true or false
Most timeline errors in circulation were true once: “proposed mandatory from 2027”, “Policy Statement expected in autumn”, “GHG Protocol revisions end of 2027”.
Each answer names the source that settles it today.
If your own dates turn on a judgement, book a free 15-minute call with our network of specialists.
UK sustainability dates: true or false?
UK SRS S2 becomes mandatory for listed companies on 1 January 2027.
The first reports under the FCA’s UK SRS rules are published in 2028.
The government is still developing a UK green taxonomy.
The TCFD was absorbed into the ISSB in 2023.
The ESOS Phase 4 compliance date is 5 December 2027.
The GHG Protocol will publish its revised corporate standards at the end of 2027.
Waste incineration joins the UK ETS in 2028.
The Deposit Return Scheme for England and Northern Ireland starts on 1 October 2027.
0 of 8 answered.
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Frequently asked
UK regulation dates, answered
When does UK SRS reporting start?
Under the FCA’s final rules, PS26/19, listed companies in UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22 report against UK SRS on a comply-or-explain basis for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, with first reporting in 2028.
No other UK entity is required to use UK SRS.
Is UK SRS mandatory from 2027?
No. The FCA’s final rules adopt comply or explain across all of UK SRS, S2 included.
CP26/5 had proposed mandatory UK SRS S2 climate reporting; the final rules did not keep that.
When are the first UK SRS reports due?
In 2028.
A company with a calendar financial year has its first in-scope period in 2027, and listing rules require the annual financial report to be public within four months of year end, so by 30 April 2028.
That date is our arithmetic from DTR 4.1.3R; a company with another year end works from its own.
How long does it take to prepare a sustainability statement?
No regulator publishes a preparation timetable.
What is fixed is the end point: the annual report, within four months of year end for a listed company.
Working back from that, the data year itself has to be captured as it happens, so a calendar-year company in scope needed its 2027 data processes in place from 1 January 2027.
When do the UK SRS reliefs end?
PS26/19 gives one year’s non-disclosure of Scope 3 under UK SRS S2 and two years’ non-disclosure of non-climate matters under UK SRS S1, running from first application.
For a calendar-year company that means Scope 3 from the 2028 period and wider S1 matters from the 2029 period — our arithmetic from ¶3.14.
What are the TCFD reporting requirements in the UK and their timeline?
The TCFD itself was disbanded on 12 October 2023, but its four pillars live on in UK SRS.
The FCA’s TCFD-aligned listing rule is replaced by the UK SRS rules for periods from 1 January 2027, and the Companies Act climate-related financial disclosure duty continues separately for large companies and LLPs.
What are the ESOS Phase 4 dates?
Phase 4 runs from 6 December 2023 to 5 December 2027.
The qualification date is 31 December 2026 and the compliance date, by which the assessment must be complete and notified, is 5 December 2027.
When does the UK CBAM start?
On 1 January 2027.
Registration opens on 1 January 2028, and a business whose 2027 imports of in-scope goods reached £50,000 or more files its first return and pays by 31 May 2028.
Is there a deadline for transition plans?
No. Under PS26/19 a listed company states whether it has a climate-related transition plan and where to find it; nobody is required to have one.
The government’s transition plan consultation closed on 17 September 2025 and it is still analysing feedback.
When must ESG ratings providers be authorised?
Providing an ESG rating becomes a regulated activity on 29 June 2028 under the ESG Ratings Order, SI 2025/1349, made on 15 December 2025.
From that date an in-scope provider needs FCA authorisation.
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.
- FCAPS26/19: Aligning listed issuers’ sustainability disclosures with international standards
Comply or explain across UK SRS; periods from 1 January 2027; first reporting in 2028; the reliefs at ¶3.14.
- FCACP26/5: Sustainability disclosures
The consultation, 30 January to 20 March 2026, that PS26/19 finalises.
- DBTUK SRS S1 and UK SRS S2
Published 25 February 2026 for voluntary use.
- FCA HandbookDTR 4.1 — annual financial report
Public within four months of the end of the financial year (DTR 4.1.3R).
- legislation.gov.ukESOS Regulations 2014, regulation 4
Phase 4 qualification date and compliance date.
- legislation.gov.ukCompanies (Directors’ Report) and LLP (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018
SECR, for financial years beginning on or after 1 April 2019.
- FCA HandbookESG sourcebook, chapters 4 and 5
Anti-greenwashing, labels, naming and marketing, entity-level reports.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2025/1349 — the ESG Ratings Order
Made 15 December 2025; regulated activity from 29 June 2028.
- HM TreasuryUK Green Taxonomy consultation response
15 July 2025: work should not proceed.
- HMRCWork out the date you’ll need to register for CBAM
Registration and first-return dates.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2026/392 — UK ETS maritime extension
Maritime from 1 July 2026.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2025/67 — Deposit Scheme Regulations
The scheme starts on 1 October 2027.
- GHG ProtocolCorporate suite update process
Consultation estimated Q2 2027; publication estimated Q4 2028.
- FRCAssurance standards — ISSA (UK) 5000
Issued 12 November 2025, effective 15 December 2026.