The report itself
What is a sustainability report?
A sustainability report is where an organisation discloses its emissions, its climate-related risks and its wider impacts, and how it governs and manages them.
In the UK the phrase covers two different things: a voluntary standalone report, and the sustainability disclosures that law and listing rules require in the annual report.
This page sets out what goes in one, where it sits, and which rules decide that.
Contents
What goes in a sustainability report
There is no single legal template, but most reports cover the same ground.
UK SRS S1 organises it into four core content areas: governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets.
For climate, UK SRS S2 asks for absolute gross Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, measured in accordance with the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard (2004) unless a jurisdictional authority or exchange requires another method.
A voluntary report built on other frameworks typically adds wider environmental and social topics, such as workforce, communities or nature.
How the two UK standards are structured, section by section, is on our UK SRS standards page.
The four core content areas in UK SRS S1
| Area | Paragraphs | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Governance | ¶¶26–27 | Who oversees sustainability-related risks and opportunities, and how |
| Strategy | ¶¶28–42 | The risks and opportunities, and their effect on the business |
| Risk management | ¶¶43–44 | How they are identified, assessed and managed |
| Metrics and targets | ¶¶45–53 | How performance is measured and what targets are set |
Source: UK SRS S1 structure, ¶25
Where it sits
A separate document, or part of the annual report
A voluntary sustainability report can be a standalone document published whenever the organisation chooses.
A report prepared under UK SRS cannot: S1 paragraph 60 requires the disclosures to be part of the entity’s general purpose financial reports.
Paragraph 64 requires them at the same time and for the same period as the financial statements, so they cannot be published later in the year.
They may sit in the management commentary or a similar report, and may share a location with information required by regulators, provided they stay clearly identifiable.
A UK SRS report is tied to the financial statements’ timing and period.
A standalone report published months later is a voluntary document, not UK SRS reporting.
UK rules
Which parts the law requires
| Rule | Who it reaches | Where it goes | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| SECR | Quoted companies, and large unquoted companies and LLPs in scope | Directors’ report (energy and carbon information) | SI 2008/410 Sch 7 |
| Climate-related financial disclosures | Companies within the scope of section 414CA | Strategic report, non-financial and sustainability information statement | CA 2006 s.414CB |
| UK SRS | Listed companies in UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22 | General purpose financial reports; comply or explain from 1 January 2027 | FCA PS26/19 |
| UK SRS, voluntary | Any other entity | Its own choice, but S1 ¶60 still places it in the financial reports | DBT |
Nothing in UK SRS is mandatory: under the FCA’s final rules, listed companies in scope apply it on a comply-or-explain basis.
The government has confirmed that UK SRS S2 is a national reporting framework for the purposes of section 414CB(6), so a company reporting under UK SRS S2 need not duplicate its climate disclosures.
For how UK SRS and SECR fit together, see UK SRS vs SECR.
Frameworks
Financial materiality, or impact
UK SRS, like the ISSB’s IFRS S1 and S2, asks what could reasonably be expected to affect the entity’s cash flows, access to finance or cost of capital over time.
That is single, financial materiality, judged by its influence on the decisions of primary users of general purpose financial reports.
The GRI Standards start from the other end: an organisation prioritises the topics that represent its most significant impacts on the economy, environment and people.
The EU’s CSRD and ESRS use double materiality, which covers both.
Many organisations publish to more than one framework, which is why the same report can contain both kinds of information.
Assurance
Who checks it, if anyone
No UK rule requires a sustainability report to be assured.
Under PS26/19, a listed company that does obtain assurance over its UK SRS disclosures names the provider, the disclosures assured and the assurance standards used.
The FRC’s ISSA (UK) 5000 is for voluntary use.
For where to begin a first report, see getting started; for current developments, our news desk covers each change as it lands.
Frequently asked
Questions people ask
What is a sustainability report?
A report in which an organisation discloses information about sustainability matters: its emissions, climate-related risks, environmental and social impacts, and how it governs and manages them. The term covers both a voluntary standalone report and the sustainability disclosures a company makes in its annual report under rules such as SECR, the Companies Act climate disclosures or UK SRS.
Is a sustainability report mandatory in the UK?
There is no single UK law requiring a standalone sustainability report. Specific disclosures are required of companies in scope: SECR energy and carbon information in the directors’ report, climate-related financial disclosures in the strategic report under section 414CB of the Companies Act, and, under the FCA’s PS26/19, reporting against UK SRS on a comply-or-explain basis for listed companies in UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22 from periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027.
What is the difference between a sustainability report and a UK SRS report?
A sustainability report can follow any framework and be published at any time. UK SRS S1 requires its disclosures to be part of the entity’s general purpose financial reports, published at the same time and for the same period as the financial statements, so a UK SRS report is not a separate document published later in the year.
What frameworks do sustainability reports use?
In the UK the main ones are UK SRS S1 and S2 (the UK-endorsed ISSB standards), the GHG Protocol for emissions, and the GRI Standards for reporting impacts on the economy, environment and people. UK SRS and the ISSB standards use financial materiality; the GRI Standards prioritise an organisation’s most significant impacts.
Does a sustainability report need to be assured?
No UK rule requires assurance of a sustainability report. Under PS26/19, a listed company that obtains assurance over UK SRS disclosures says who provided it, which disclosures were assured and which standards were used. The FRC’s ISSA (UK) 5000 is available for voluntary use.
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.
- Department for Business and TradeUK Sustainability Reporting Standards: UK SRS S1 and UK SRS S2
Published 25 February 2026; available for voluntary use.
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S1 General Requirements, ¶¶3, 25–53, 60–64 (PDF)
Materiality, the four core content areas, and location and timing in general purpose financial reports.
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures, ¶29(a) (PDF)
Absolute gross Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, measured under the GHG Protocol (2004).
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS26/19: Aligning listed issuers’ sustainability disclosures with international standards
Comply or explain against UK SRS for UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22, from 1 January 2027; assurance transparency (¶2.45).
- legislation.gov.ukCompanies Act 2006, section 414CB
The non-financial and sustainability information statement and its climate-related financial disclosures.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2018/1155 — the SECR regulations
Energy and carbon reporting inserted into the directors’ report.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2008/410, Schedule 7
Parts 7 and 7A: what quoted and large unquoted companies disclose.
- IFRS FoundationIFRS Sustainability Standards Navigator
IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, the baseline UK SRS is based on.
- GHG ProtocolCorporate Accounting and Reporting Standard
The emissions accounting standard behind most reports.
- GRIGRI 1: Foundation 2021, §2.2
Reporting on an organisation’s most significant impacts on the economy, environment and people.
- Financial Reporting CouncilISSA (UK) 5000 (PDF)
Sustainability assurance standard for voluntary use.