What Sustainability Reporting Requirements Do Manufacturers Need to Know About?

Introduction

As net zero targets draw closer, sustainability, energy and carbon reporting are becoming increasingly important priorities for businesses across all sectors. For manufacturers, this means improving transparency and embedding sustainability into day-to-day operations.  

In this guide, we’ll explain the key sustainability reporting requirements your manufacturing business needs to understand, outline some practical steps for staying compliant, and explore how effective sustainability reporting can benefit your business. 

Why is Sustainability Reporting Important? 

Sustainability reporting is the process of measuring and disclosing a business’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. It helps businesses track their impact and demonstrate the progress they are making towards their sustainability goals. 

There are a number of reasons why this is important for manufacturing businesses: 

Compliance – Many reporting requirements are mandatory for qualifying businesses, and you may face fines or penalties for failing to comply. 

Risk management and planning – Manufacturers face risk from both the effects of climate change and changing requirements. Sustainability reporting can help businesses with long-term planning and resilience. 

Appeal to investors – Maintaining accurate, up-to-date sustainability reporting records can help attract ESG-focused investors by demonstrating transparency and responsible business practices. 

Operational efficiency – Energy and carbon reporting often reveals opportunities for improving your processes and finding energy cost savings. 

Brand reputation – Reporting shows a commitment to sustainability which appeals to customers and can act as a unique selling point for your brand. 

Supply chain expectations – Large corporations and retailers often require sustainability transparency from suppliers, by completing sustainability reporting, you can widen your scope of potential supply chain partners. 

What Sustainability Reporting Requirements Do Manufacturers Need to Know About? 

There are several important sustainability reporting requirements that manufacturers need to be aware of: 

Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) 

The Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) is a mandatory UK energy assessment scheme designed to help large organisations identify opportunities to improve energy efficiency and reduce costs. 

Manufacturing businesses must comply with ESOS if they qualify as a large undertaking, typically having 250 or more employees, or an annual turnover exceeding £44 million and a balance sheet total exceeding £38 million. 

Under the scheme, organisations are required to carry out a comprehensive assessment of their energy consumption every four years. This includes energy used across manufacturing facilities, production processes, buildings, and transport operations. Businesses must then identify and report cost-effective energy-saving opportunities, although implementing the recommendations is not mandatory. 

Climate Change Agreements (CCA) 

CCAs are voluntary agreements containing targets to increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Their main aim is to reduce consumption and emissions, and they also come with incentives for organisations to get a discount on their Climate Change Levy (CCL), which is a which is a tax paid on electricity, gas and other fuels. Those who participate in a CCA currently receive a 92% discount on CCL for electricity and 89% for gas. 

The scheme is only available to businesses operating within eligible energy-intensive sectors, such as food and drink manufacturing, plastics, and chemicals. As a result, CCAs are particularly relevant to manufacturing organisations with high energy demands driven by production processes. 

As part of the agreement, participating companies must regularly report their energy consumption and demonstrate progress against sector-specific targets. Where targets are not met, organisations may be required to make carbon buyout payments. However, these costs are typically far outweighed by the substantial CCL savings received through participation in the scheme. 

Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) 

For manufacturers, SECR provides a structured framework for monitoring and reporting energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Given the energy-intensive nature of many manufacturing processes, SECR reporting can help businesses identify efficiency opportunities, reduce operating costs, and collect robust emissions data. Many manufacturers already use SECR reporting as the foundation for their wider sustainability and decarbonisation programmes. 

UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (SRS) 

In 2026, SECR is being reviewed and new Sustainability Reporting Standards (SRS) are expected to be introduced. SRS will cover a wider range of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. 

This includes greater and more detailed GHG reporting requirements (including Scope 3 emissions), and sustainability governance and strategy. 

For manufacturers, establishing strong SECR reporting processes now will make it easier to meet future UK SRS requirements as they are introduced.  

For more information, check out our full SECR and SRS guide.  

Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) – for exporting to EU 

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) applies to UK manufacturers with significant exposure to the EU, such as those listed on an EU-regulated market, generating substantial turnover within the EU, or operating large EU subsidiaries. The directive requires organisations to provide comprehensive Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosures in accordance with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). 

Reporting requirements cover a broad range of topics, including governance practices, environmental impacts, social issues, and value-chain sustainability performance. A key feature of the CSRD is that it requires companies to assess and report both how sustainability issues affect their business and how their activities impact people and the environment. 

ISO14001 

ISO 14001 is the internationally recognised standard for Environmental Management Systems (EMS). It provides a structured framework that enables organisations to develop and implement their environmental management practices and overall environmental performance. 

By adopting ISO 14001, organisations can identify and manage their environmental impact, meet applicable legal and regulatory requirements and support their environmental objectives. 

The framework covers various aspects, from resource usage and waste management to monitoring environmental performance. 

How Can Manufacturers Stay Compliant with Energy and Carbon Reporting Requirements? 

Staying compliant and on top of your sustainability reporting requires regular monitoring, data collection, and careful attention to updates to requirements: 

• Understand the regulations that apply to your business – Reporting requirements often depend on factors such as company size, industry, energy consumption and geographic location. Make sure you understand which regulations apply to your business and which do not. 

• Implement energy monitoring systems – This can help you to collect energy data consistently and accurately and put it into a centralised platform to make it easier to manage. 

• Track all energy sources – Record electricity, gas, fuel and process energy consumption across all sites and areas of your operations. 

• Monitor Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions – Measure both direct emissions generated by your operations and indirect emissions associated with purchased energy to ensure you are collecting comprehensive data. 

• Keep accurate documentation – Keep clear and organised records of all your energy data to support your reporting. 

• Adopt recognised carbon accounting standards –When collecting your data, use established frameworks such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol to ensure your calculations follow widely accepted methods. 

• Assign responsibility in your team – Designate a sustainability, compliance, or energy manager to oversee data collection and reporting deadlines. 

• Integrate carbon reporting with financial reporting processes – By conducting your carbon reporting with annual financial reporting, you can prevent duplicating work. 

• Implement energy-efficiency measures– It is important to document any initiatives you implement such as equipment upgrades or renewable energy adoption to demonstrate your efforts to reduce emissions. 

• Train staff on reporting requirements – Ensure all employees responsible for energy management understand compliance obligations and data-tracking procedures. 

• Monitor regulatory updates – Energy and carbon reporting rules change frequently, so staying informed helps you to stay compliant. 

• Work with a trusted consultancy – When operating large or multi-site manufacturing businesses, partnering with a sustainability consultancy is a great way to ensure your sustainability reporting is completed accurately and in a timely manner. 

How Consultus Sustainability Can Support Manufacturers with Their Sustainability Reporting 

At Consultus Sustainability, we specialise in helping manufacturing businesses get the most out of their energy, carbon and sustainability reporting, through expert guidance and tailored support.  

We can support you with all your GHG reporting requirements, including both voluntary and mandatory reporting such as ESOS and SECR, which will give you a clear view of your energy consumption and act as a foundation for future sustainability improvements. 

Scope 3 emissions make up a large portion of a business’s overall carbon footprint and are starting to be included in more mandatory reporting requirements for businesses. When you work with Consultus Sustainability on your Scope 3 reporting, our experts record and collate high quality data to capture a full picture of your entire carbon footprint, including your supply chain and upstream and downstream activities. We can also offer advice on actionable steps to begin to mitigate these emissions. 

We can also use your sustainability reporting as a base to create a bespoke Net Zero Pathway for your business, advising you on the best course of action to take to get you to your goals. This could involve technologies such as submetering, continuous monitoring, and expert-run sessions to support your team on your journey.