United Kingdom: FCA and BEIS (DBT and DESNZ)

TCFD-aligned climate and energy disclosure for listed companies, asset managers, and large corporates.
Status: Mandatory for most large companies; transition to ISSB S1/S2 under consultation for 2025[1][2][3][8][9][10].

Companies Covered

11,000+

Listed, large private, asset managers, LLPs (2025)[3][4][5][7]

Frameworks

TCFD, SECR

Mandatory, with ISSB S1/S2 transition planned[1][2][3][8][9][10]

Scope 1, 2, 3 Emissions

Required*

Scope 1 & 2 mandatory, Scope 3 if material[2][3][6][7]

Assurance

Not yet

Assurance under review for future ISSB regime[1][8][10]

UK Disclosure Requirements (2025)

Entity	Framework	Key Requirements	Status
Premium/Standard Listed Companies	TCFD	Comply or explain on 4 TCFD pillars, Scope 1/2/3 emissions	Mandatory since 2022[2][3][4][5][6]
Asset Managers & Owners	TCFD	Entity and product-level climate disclosures, scenario analysis	Mandatory since 2023[3][6][8]
Large UK Companies/LLPs	SECR	Annual energy use, GHG emissions, intensity ratios, efficiency actions	Mandatory since 2019[7][9]
All In-Scope Entities	ISSB S1/S2 (planned)	Transition to global baseline, UK-specific endorsement	Consultation in 2025[1][3][8][9][10]

UK Sustainability Disclosure Timeline

Year	Milestone	Status (2025)
2019	SECR energy and carbon reporting for large companies	Active
2021	TCFD-aligned disclosure for premium listed companies	Active
2022	TCFD for standard listed, large private, asset managers	Active
2023	TCFD for asset owners, scenario analysis, product-level reporting	Active
2025	Consultation on ISSB S1/S2 adoption, new UK Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR)	Planned[1][3][8][9][10]

UK Sustainability Disclosure: Entity Coverage (2025, est.)

Estimated number of UK organizations by disclosure regime (2025).

UK Integration and Influence

International alignment: TCFD, ISSB, EU CSRD, GRI, SFDR[1][3][5][8][9][10]
Greening finance: Disclosure as a lever for net zero transition and capital allocation[1][3][4][5][7][10]
Comply or explain: Principle-based TCFD regime, moving to more prescriptive ISSB S1/S2[2][3][8][10]
SECR: Carbon and energy reporting embedded in annual reports for large UK companies[7][9]
Future direction: Consultation on UK-specific ISSB endorsement, SDR, and assurance[1][3][8][10]

About UK Sustainability Disclosure

The UK’s climate and sustainability disclosure regime, led by the FCA and BEIS (now DBT & DESNZ), requires TCFD-aligned reporting for listed companies, asset managers, and large corporates, and SECR energy/carbon reporting for over 11,000 organizations[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. The UK is now consulting on adopting ISSB S1/S2 as the new baseline, aiming for international comparability while tailoring requirements for the domestic market. The regime is characterized by early adoption, international alignment, and integration of climate and energy disclosure into mainstream financial reporting.

Note: All data reflects official FCA, BEIS, and industry updates as of May 2025.

United Kingdom - FCA & BEIS (Financial Conduct Authority & Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy)

United Kingdom - FCA & BEIS (Financial Conduct Authority & Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy)

Countries: United Kingdom
Function: TCFD-aligned disclosures for large companies and asset managers; includes SECR

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The United Kingdom has established a mandatory framework for climate-related and broader sustainability disclosures, coordinated across financial regulators and corporate governance bodies. Central to this architecture are the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which governs financial sector participants, and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which historically oversaw corporate disclosure reforms before its functions were redistributed into the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) in 2023. Despite this reorganization, BEIS-era frameworks continue to define the UK's sustainability reporting landscape.

The United Kingdom was the first G20 country to move decisively toward mandatory TCFD-aligned climate disclosure. Beginning in 2021, the FCA required premium-listed companies to disclose against TCFD recommendations on a comply-or-explain basis, extending requirements to standard-listed issuers and asset managers in 2022.

The framework applies to:

Publicly listed companies (premium and standard segments)
Asset managers and life insurers above certain thresholds
Private companies with significant size thresholds (for certain disclosures)

The disclosures must address four TCFD thematic pillars:

Governance: Board and management oversight of climate-related risks and opportunities
Strategy: Actual and potential climate impacts on business models and financial planning
Risk management: Processes for identifying, assessing, and managing climate-related risks
Metrics and targets: Emissions reporting (Scope 1, 2, and, where material, Scope 3), and progress against climate-related targets

The United Kingdom’s approach to mandatory climate disclosure is closely linked to its broader Greening Finance Strategy, which aims to embed environmental considerations across the financial system. Climate-related disclosures are seen not only as investor protection tools but as critical mechanisms for driving capital reallocation toward net-zero transition goals.

The UK mandates energy and carbon reporting through the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) framework.

Effective since 2019, SECR requires large companies, LLPs, and quoted firms to disclose:

Energy consumption
Greenhouse gas emissions
Energy efficiency actions taken
Intensity ratios normalized to operational metrics (such as revenue or production output)

SECR operates alongside corporate financial reporting obligations, embedding carbon and energy metrics into annual reports filed with Companies House. It applies to over 11,000 UK-registered organizations and is designed to improve consistency and transparency in environmental performance disclosure.

Looking forward, the UK is preparing to move beyond TCFD-aligned climate reporting toward broader sustainability reporting frameworks. In 2023, the UK government announced plans to develop disclosure standards based on the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) IFRS S1 and S2 standards, subject to a UK-specific endorsement and consultation process. The goal is to maintain international comparability while tailoring application to domestic market needs.

The UK's regulatory approach to sustainability disclosure is characterized by:

Early adoption of climate disclosure mandates compared to G20 peers
Reliance on international standards (TCFD, now ISSB) rather than creating standalone domestic frameworks
Incremental expansion from climate-specific to broader ESG reporting through phased regulatory initiatives
Integration of sustainability disclosure into mainstream corporate reporting, rather than through standalone ESG reports

Challenges remain, particularly around Scope 3 emissions measurement, SME disclosure proportionality, and ensuring alignment across overlapping frameworks (SECR, TCFD, ISSB). Nonetheless, the United Kingdom remains a global leader in mainstreaming climate risk into financial reporting and governance practices.