How to unlock opportunities with SECR

8th February 2021

Streamlined Energy & Carbon Reporting or SECR is an acronym with which many larger businesses will have become increasingly familiar.

For those of you who are still unsure as to what SECR is, whether you qualify, or want to understand how best to chart your path to regulatory compliance, head over to our dedicated SECR page.

SECR came into effect in April 2019 and since then many companies will have completed their first year of reporting. Once published in your annual report you will have met the regulatory compliance required by the Government. The energy and carbon performance of your organisation will now be visible to your investors, customers, employees, and the broader community. Many of these stakeholders are increasingly focused on environmental sustainability and looking to work with organisations that reflect their values. SECR provides a platform to turn compliance into an opportunity. The question you may be asking yourself is how do I leverage a piece of mandatory compliance into a sustainability initiative?

Inenco is working with 100’s of clients to complete their reports and we are now recommending to them (and you) that they use their SECR report as the foundation on which to build a clear continuous improvement plan. The esteemed management guru, Peter Drucker said, “if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it” and he is right. SECR gives you a baseline to compare your carbon reduction progress against year on year. Don’t just view SECR as a box-ticking exercise, use your report to enable a carbon reduction strategy backed by insightful data. Some of the areas where we are helping our clients address the Net-Zero agenda include:

• Setting carbon reduction targets – and a costed plan to meet them.
• Communicating success stories both internally and externally.
• Procuring zero-carbon electricity.
• Supporting further reporting mechanisms such as Carbon Disclosure Project.
• Building a clear strategy and plan to drive decarbonisation and broader sustainability focus in those factors that are most material to the organisation.

The road to carbon reduction can often seem daunting. There is a common misconception that environmental sustainability must involve a large capital project, such as a wind farm or thousands of solar panels plastered across every roof. Carbon reduction can start with using the excellent consumption data available to give staff visibility of how their part of the organisation is performing so they can act. Inenco’s continued research and work has shown that data-driven efficiency can result in a 10% reduction in annual energy use and associated operating costs. Other projects will require capital investment.

Inenco, also looks to help clients to unlock savings that can fund the necessary investments to implement carbon reduction projects. We recommend an early focus upon:

• Reducing the non-commodity charges on your utility bills to free up capital to invest in energy efficiency.
• Driving data through your organisation to see where utility wastage can be avoided by your people, and where it may need capital investment (and how much this will save/cost).

To hear more about how you can leverage your SECR report and unlock cash to develop a clear and robust carbon reduction strategy contact one of our experts on 01253 785294 or email enquiries@Inenco.com