Every date below was checked against the government or NHS source on 9 October 2026. If a date moves, we'll update this page. Work out which rows apply to you, then put them in your diary.
Fixed dates in 2027
| Date | What | Who it affects |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | UK CBAM applies to aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, and iron and steel imported from this date | Importers once their CBAM imports reach £50,000; their customers through prices |
| 1 January 2027 | UK SRS reporting, comply or explain, for accounting periods starting on or after this date | UK listed companies, and their suppliers through Scope 3 data requests |
| 31 March 2027 | Simpler Recycling: workplaces with fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees must separate their recycling | Micro-firms in England. Everyone else has had to since 31 March 2025. |
| 1 April 2027 | New NHS Carbon Reduction Plan requirements for procurements starting from this date: a global boundary and all relevant Scope 3 on contracts of £5 million a year or more and all new frameworks | NHS suppliers |
| Around June 2027 | The government's 2027 greenhouse gas conversion factors are expected (the 2026 set was published on 11 June 2026) | Anyone reporting a period that falls in 2027 |
| 5 December 2027 | ESOS Phase 4 compliance notification deadline, for organisations that were large on 31 December 2026 | Large undertakings: 250 or more employees, or over £44 million turnover and £38 million balance sheet |
Dates that depend on your year end
Two of the most common carbon deadlines move with your financial year, not the calendar:
| What | When | Example: year end 31 March 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| SECR figures in your annual report | With your accounts: 9 months after your year end for a private company | Accounts and SECR filed by 31 December 2027 |
| Carbon Reduction Plan refresh | Once a year, when your new footprint for the year is ready | Measure April 2026 to March 2027, approve and publish the updated plan |
If you sell to the NHS or central government, put a reminder in for the plan refresh. A plan dated more than a year ago is a common reason for a tender to stall.
Coming up just before and after 2027
- 30 November 2026: the government's Modernising Corporate Reporting consultation closes. It moves where SECR sits in the annual report. Our post on SECR reform covers it. Outcomes are likely during 2027.
- 31 December 2026: ESOS Phase 4 qualification date. Check whether you're large on this date.
- 31 January 2028: registration deadline for anyone who became liable for UK CBAM during 2027.
- April 2028: the NHS roadmap moves on to carbon footprints for individual products supplied to the NHS.
A simple plan for a small business
- Now: check whether you're a micro-firm for Simpler Recycling, and talk to your waste contractor before 31 March 2027.
- Before 1 April 2027: if you supply the NHS, read what the new plan needs and start measuring the Scope 3 categories you don't cover yet.
- At your year end: pull a year of energy bills, fuel, travel and waste data, and refresh your footprint and Carbon Reduction Plan.
- In June 2027: check the new conversion factors are in use for any period that falls in 2027.
Not sure which rules apply? Our NHS supplier checker and SECR checker answer in under a minute.
How Carbon Recycling helps
Carbon Recycling keeps your footprint, Carbon Reduction Plan and SECR figures in one place, uses the right year's government factors for each period, and produces the updated plan as soon as your year's data is in.