Do I need to do both ESOS and Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR)?

The simple answer is yes, if you qualify for them this year you will need to comply with both. And just because you are doing one of them, it does not mean you can ignore the other.  However, not everything is bad news. Some data you will need to collect is going to be the same for both reports, so having to comply with both doesn’t mean double the amount of work.

How do I know if I need both ESOS and SECR?

As a reminder, the qualification criteria for SECR are different than those for ESOS. 

In summary, you need to participate in SECR if:

• You are a listed company, or

If you answer “yes” to two or three of the following:

• You have over 250 staff
• You have over £36 million turnover
• You have over £18 million gross balance sheet assets (NB not “Net Assets”)

Regarding ESOS Phase 3, you need to participate if:

If you answer “yes” to at least one of the following:

• You have over 250 members of staff.
• You have turnover of over 50 million Euros (£43 million) and an annual balance sheet total in excess of 43 million euro (£37 million).
• You are a part of a larger organisation that falls into either of these categories.

Most of our ESOS clients need to do SECR as well.  If this applies to you as well, then this is obviously going to mean incurring additional cost every year for your SECR assessment but if you are doing both SECR and ESOS you should see a reduction in your 4-yearly ESOS fee as most of the analysis required for ESOS is done as a part of SECR already.

How to best approach doing both ESOS and SECR together

The quickest and simplest answer to that question is “Use a Carbon Reporting Software”. Using software like Plato Net Zero to store all your carbon data will make your life easier. You will only need to enter the data once and then download the required report. There will be some data that is only used for one of the reports. However, this could be an opportunity for starting your Net Zero journey. 

Note that for ESOS Phase 3 you will also need to audit some or all of our sites and you will need a Lead Assessor to sign your ESOS report.

Conclusion

So, in conclusion, yes you need to do both ESOS and SECR if you qualify for both and the most cost-effective and lowest risk approach is to keep the energy data flowing through to us during 2022 and 2023.

Why should I use a software?

To achieve Net Zero you will need to do a lot of calculations. Calculating your carbon Footprint and monitoring it is one of the most important things as it will help you understand where you stand, and it will set a starting point for your Net Zero journey. That is why it is really important to be accurate with the data collection. Moreover, climate change data is as important as financial data, so it will need to be complete, accurate and timely.

You can collect this data manually, through a consultancy or with a software. Doing it manually is your lowest cost option, but it is easier that you make mistakes or forget some data. Using a software is the best option in terms of cost-time balance. It will require you to enter the data, but top software check if you are missing data or if it is not correct. Moreover, those software contain checklists that will ensure you don’t forget any data. 

Using a software will also help you to check which projects are going to be more effectives for you company.

PLATO is the professional cloud-based software that allows you to calculate you Carbon Footprint and monitor it. It has a Carbon Planner integrated that will allow you to create a Carbon Reduction Plan and see the impact of your carbon reduction projects. Moreover, it gives you the opportunity to enhance your company’s energy and cost efficiency through advanced software with the help of our experts.