UK Sustainability Reporting Standards

What are UK SRS S1 and S2?

UK SRS S1 sets general requirements for disclosing sustainability-related financial information, and UK SRS S2 climate-related disclosures, following IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 almost word for word. They were endorsed for use in the UK after a technical assessment and consultation, and published on 25 February 2026. They apply only where a regulator or law requires them, or where a company chooses to use them. See IFRS S1 and IFRS S2.

How do UK SRS differ from IFRS S1 and S2?

• No effective date in the standards; regulators and law set when they apply.
• No first-year timing relief allowing sustainability disclosures to be published after the financial statements.
• Climate-first and scope 3 reliefs without a fixed time limit for voluntary users; a company using the climate-first relief cannot claim full compliance with S1.
• Industry-based guidance drawn from the SASB Standards may be referred to, rather than must be.
• The December 2025 IFRS S2 amendments, such as the financed emissions relief, are included. See the IFRS S2 amendments.

What do the FCA's rules require?

PS26/19 applies to companies with shares in the commercial companies, transition, non-equity and non-voting equity shares, secondary listing and depositary receipts categories; investment funds, shell companies and debt issuers are out of scope. For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, in-scope companies report against UK SRS S1 and S2 on a comply-or-explain basis. They may omit scope 3 emissions in the first year and disclosures on sustainability topics other than climate under UK SRS S1 for the first two years; both reliefs end for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2029. They must state whether they have a transition plan and whether their disclosures are assured, though neither is required. See ISSB transition reliefs.

UK SRS in practice: a listed company's first three years

A company listed in the commercial companies category, with a calendar financial year, plans its reporting.

For 2027 it reports its climate-related disclosures under UK SRS S2, using the relief to omit scope 3 and the relief for other sustainability topics, and states that it has a published transition plan and limited assurance over scope 1 and 2. For 2028 it adds scope 3, and for 2029 it reports the material non-climate topics required by UK SRS S1, such as workforce or water, identified using its materiality assessment. Where it cannot yet provide a disclosure, it explains why and when it expects to. See financial materiality.

What does comply or explain mean here?

A company either makes the disclosures or explains in its annual financial report why it has not, what steps it is taking and when it expects to comply, as under the previous TCFD rules. Explanations should be specific; the FCA monitors disclosures and can challenge generic ones. The FCA considered making the standards mandatory and decided against it for now.

Do UK SRS apply to private companies?

Not yet. Large UK companies and LLPs already have climate-related financial disclosure duties under the Companies Act and related regulations, which they can meet by reporting under UK SRS S2. The government's consultation on modernising corporate reporting, open until 30 November 2026, asks how UK SRS should fit into company law, without yet proposing a scope or dates. See ISSB adoption by country.

How do UK SRS relate to the ESRS?

UK groups with large EU subsidiaries, or significant EU turnover, may also fall under the CSRD, which uses the ESRS and double materiality. The ISSB, EFRAG and the Commission's interoperability guidance helps companies use one set of climate disclosures for both, but the ESRS cover impacts and more topics. See the CSRD for non-EU companies and the ISSB standards and ESRS compared.

This guide is general information. It is not tax or legal advice for your situation.