Insights

Streamlined energy and carbon reporting (SECR) is the first bit of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compliance that companies in the UK face. SECR compliance becomes relevant when your company becomes quoted, or grows to be a large company/LLP, defined as meeting two of the following three criteria: 250 employees, £36 million turnover, and an £18 million balance sheet. At this point you need to include SECR content in your Annual Report published at Companies House. The conten

ESG is now embedded throughout UK government procurement. Depending on the contract, suppliers may be assessed on carbon reduction targets, social value, modern slavery controls, cyber security and payment practices. Understanding these requirements early can significantly improve your chances of success when bidding for government work. ESG requirements for government contracts Government requirements for public procurement are communicated via Procurement Policy Notes (PPNs

Since 2015, companies that do business in the UK have had to publish a Modern Slavery Statement when their annual turnover exceeds £36 million. It’s usually one of the first pieces of ESG legislation that companies have to comply with. What does the Modern Slavery Act require? The legislation itself (the Modern Slavery Act 2015) is actually quite simple and there are only two things a company needs to do: Publish a director approved and signed Modern Slavery Statement every

Last week I stepped off a plane in Manchester to find it hotter than my departure airport in Portugal. Now you don’t need to have lived in Manchester to know that our climate is generally somewhat wetter and cooler than the Iberian Peninsula, but the well-publicised heat dome was clearly having a significant impact. This week, we’re being warned of the return of El Niño, a natural weather pattern that raises global temperatures and worsens some rainfall, and some scientist

When I first started to work in sustainability, the ESG ‘alphabet soup’ of disclosures was a constant headache but sustainability reporting is now moving from a fragmented set of requirements towards a single, global baseline. This is all galvanising around the international IFRS Standards, the UK interpretation of which is the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS). The IFRS Sustainability Disclosures The IFRS Sustainability Disclosures were developed specifically to

What is double materiality? Traditional (single) materiality focuses on how sustainability-related risks and opportunities affect your organisation’s performance, including future financial performance. The key to traditional materiality is to understand the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) priorities from a broad range of stakeholders, including the leadership team, customers, employees, and investors. The exercise output should indicate how each of the material E

Updated on 4th April 2025 following the European Parliament vote on 26 March. With many non-EU companies in scope for Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and/or the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), these pieces of EU legislation continue to shape the future of sustainability reporting. The February 2025 EU Omnibus Directive proposed some important changes that impact reporting timelines, data point expectations, and the scope and pace

ESG (environment, social and governance) legislation is increasingly common these days but the burden of this is heavily weighted to the largest of companies. Micro and small companies are safe from any requirements but this changes as a UK company nears 250 employees or £36m turnover, when they need to prepare for five key pieces of ESG legislation. Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) In scope companies are individually, or part of a Group that has: 250+ employees, or £4

For small and growth companies starting out on their environment, social and governance (ESG) journey it can be hard to know what to do, in what order, and what to delay until the company has grown more. We’re always working with private equity portfolio companies, and we know what they expect from their portfolio companies. We also know what ESG rating schemes (e.g. MSCI, Sustainalytics, ISS, etc.) evaluate company ESG performance on. Put these together, and if you want to a

TCFD is an acronym for Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure. Here's what you need to know.