Carbon reporting for UK businesses: what it is, who needs it and how to do it

En resumen

Carbon reporting, also called carbon emissions reporting or greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting, means measuring the greenhouse gases your business is responsible for over a year, in tonnes of CO2e split into Scope 1, 2 and 3, and sharing the result with the method behind it. In the UK, quoted companies and large companies must report under SECR; most other businesses report because tenders, the NHS and their customers ask.

Actualizado el 24 de octubre de 2026 por el equipo de Carbon Recycling. Las cifras usan los factores de conversión oficiales del Gobierno británico y se comprueban con la guía vigente de gov.uk.

What carbon reporting means

You will see the same job called carbon reporting, carbon emissions reporting, emissions reporting, GHG reporting, carbon accounting or working out your carbon footprint. They all mean adding up the greenhouse gases your business caused in a year and presenting the total in a way someone else can check.

Three things make a carbon report trustworthy, whoever it is for:

A recognised method. Almost every UK rule and buyer follows the GHG Protocol, which sorts emissions into Scope 1, 2 and 3.
Official emission factors. UK businesses multiply each quantity, such as kWh of gas or litres of diesel, by theUK government conversion factors for the year. Every gas is converted to CO2 equivalent (CO2e), so the result is one number in tonnes.
A stated period and boundary. Which 12 months, which companies and which sites are included, and anything left out with the reason.

Who has to report carbon emissions in the UK?

The law requires it from some businesses, and buyers ask everyone else. Our page on UK carbon reporting requirements covers every rule in detail. In short:

Quién	What asks for it	What you report
Sociedades cotizadas	Companies Act directors' report rules, extended by SECR	Global Scope 1 and 2 emissions, energy use, an intensity ratio and the method
Large unquoted companies and LLPs	SECR, when two of: more than 250 employees, more than £36m turnover, more than £18m balance sheet	UK energy use in kWh, the emissions from it, an intensity ratio, the method and efficiency actions
Suppliers to central government	PPN 006, on contracts above £5 million a year where relevant and proportionate	A Carbon Reduction Plan: Scope 1, 2 and five Scope 3 categories, and a net zero commitment
Proveedores del NHS	The NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap	A Net Zero Commitment below £5 million a year, a Carbon Reduction Plan at £5 million or more
Suppliers to large companies	Customer questionnaires and contract terms	Your footprint, or your share of it, so the customer can count it in their Scope 3

If none of these reaches you yet, see carbon reporting when the law doesn't require it. The free SECR check and Carbon Reduction Plan check each take under a minute.

What goes into a carbon emissions report

The exact layout depends on who asked, but nearly every report contains the same parts:

The reporting period, usually your financial year.
The boundary: which companies, sites and vehicles are included.
Scope 1: fuel burned on site and in your own vehicles, and refrigerant leaks.
Scope 2: the electricity and heat you buy.
Scope 3, as far as the reader asks: business travel, commuting, deliveries, waste, and for some readers what you buy. See the 15 Scope 3 categories.
Energy use in kWh, which SECR asks for alongside the emissions.
An intensity ratio, such as tonnes CO2e per £1 million turnover or per employee, so years can be compared as the business grows.
The method: the GHG Protocol, the conversion factor year, and any estimates and how you made them.
Last year's figures for comparison, once you have them.
What you are doing to cut emissions, and any target, such as net zero by 2050 in a Carbon Reduction Plan.

Un ejemplo práctico

Here is a year for a made-up business with 40 staff, one office, a small warehouse and six vans, worked out with the 2026 UK government conversion factors, exactly as our software calculates it:

Actividad	Alcance	Cantidad	Tonnes CO2e
Diesel for six vans	1	16.000 litros	41.34
Gas for heating	1	95.000 kWh	17.32
Air conditioning refrigerant leak	1	3 kg	5.77
Electricidad	2	140.000 kWh	18.33
Waste to landfill	3	18 toneladas	9.37
Staff cars on business mileage	3	28.000 millas	7.48
Short-haul flights	3	48,000 passenger km	6.14
Noches de hotel	3	110 noches de hotel	1.14
Rail travel	3	36,000 passenger km	1.11
Total Scope 1			64.43
Total Scope 2			18.33
Total Scope 3			25.24
Total			108.0

Each line is the quantity multiplied by its factor. A report would add the period, the boundary, an intensity ratio (for example the total divided by 40 employees) and a sentence on method. Our step-by-step footprint guide works through a second example, for a 20-person business, line by line.

How to do carbon reporting, step by step

Find out who is asking and for what. An SECR report, a Carbon Reduction Plan and a customer questionnaire need different things. Our which do I need page starts from what has happened to you.
Pick the period and boundary. Usually your last financial year, every company and site you control.
Collect the data. Gas and electricity bills, fuel cards, mileage claims, travel bookings, waste notes and refrigerant service records.
Convert it. Multiply each quantity by the matching government factor for the year. The free kWh to CO2e calculator does this for energy.
Add it up by scope and work out an intensity ratio.
Write it up in the format you need, with the method, and keep the evidence. Our free report check reviews a Carbon Reduction Plan or SECR report you already have.
Repeat every year, with the new factors, and compare with last year.

Spreadsheet, software or consultant?

A spreadsheet works for a first Scope 1 and 2 footprint if you are careful with factor years and units. Software keeps the factors up to date, keeps the evidence with each figure and writes the reports for you. A consultant suits a complex group or work that needs verifying. Our guide to what carbon reporting costs compares all three, and our UK carbon reporting software comparison lists published prices.

Mistakes that get reports sent back

The wrong factor year, or a factor from another country's dataset.
Mixing units, such as gas in cubic metres treated as kWh, or net and gross calorific values.
Leaving out refrigerant leaks, which can be a large share of Scope 1 for a small business with air conditioning.
Unclear electricity figures. Location-based and market-based Scope 2 are different numbers; say which you show, or show both. See green tariffs and Scope 2.
Calling the business carbon neutral because it measured or bought offsets. Say what you measured and what you are doing to cut it.

Cómo ayuda Carbon Recycling

Carbon Recycling is carbon reporting software for UK businesses of every size. You add your bills, fuel, travel and spend, or connect Xero, Sage or FreeAgent, and it works out Scope 1, 2 and 3 with the government factors for each year. From the same figures it produces an SECR report, a PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plan and an EU VSME report, and every figure shows the factor behind it. The 14-day free trial needs no card: you can add your data and see your reports, though printing and downloading them needs a plan. Plans start at £59 a month + VAT (see pricing).

Preguntas frecuentes

What is carbon reporting?

Measuring the greenhouse gases a business is responsible for over a year, in tonnes of CO2e, split into Scope 1, 2 and 3, and sharing the result with the method behind it, in an annual report, a Carbon Reduction Plan, a tender answer or a customer questionnaire.

Is carbon reporting mandatory in the UK?

For some businesses. Quoted companies must report their emissions in the directors' report, and SECR covers unquoted companies and LLPs meeting two of: more than 250 employees, more than £36 million turnover, more than £18 million balance sheet. For most other businesses it isn't a legal duty, but tenders, the NHS and large customers may ask for it as a condition of the contract.

What is the difference between carbon reporting and carbon accounting?

Carbon accounting is the measuring: collecting activity data and multiplying it by emission factors. Carbon reporting is what you do with the result: presenting it in the format a law, a buyer or your own board asks for. The words are often used for the same job.

Is carbon emissions reporting the same as GHG reporting?

Yes. Greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting is the formal name, because a report covers methane, nitrous oxide and refrigerant gases as well as carbon dioxide. Each gas is converted to CO2 equivalent (CO2e), so the totals are usually called carbon emissions.

Which conversion factors should a UK business use?

The UK government's greenhouse gas reporting conversion factors, published by DESNZ each June. They are free, they are what SECR and PPN 006 expect, and you use the set for the year your reporting period mostly falls in.

Do I have to include Scope 3?

It depends on who is asking. SECR needs only a small part of Scope 3 (fuel for business travel in cars you don't own). A PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plan needs five Scope 3 categories. Customers and EU buyers may ask for more. Most businesses start with Scope 1 and 2 and add Scope 3 as they are asked.

How often should a business report?

Once a year, for a 12-month period, usually your financial year. A Carbon Reduction Plan is updated every year, and SECR figures go in each year's annual report, with the previous year shown alongside for comparison.

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