Sustainability reporting is changing in the UK, but this article is not written for organisations that are required to report under the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS).
It is written for organisations that are not directly regulated, but are increasingly being asked to provide sustainability and emissions data by customers, investors and partners who are.
For many growing and established UK organisations, UK SRS will not create a legal reporting obligation in 2026. What it will create is a new baseline for what customers consider credible, auditable and decision-ready ESG data across the supply chain.
The opportunity lies in being ready to respond without over-engineering reporting or building enterprise-scale compliance programmes.
What Are the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS)?
In 2026 the UK will phase in mandatory sustainability and climate-related financial disclosures under the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS), fully aligned with the global ISSB framework which includes IFRS S1 (general sustainability disclosures) and IFRS S2 (climate disclosures).
- UK SRS S1 covers governance, strategy, risk management, metrics, and targets for all material sustainability issues.
- UK SRS S2 focuses specifically on climate-related risks and opportunities, including emissions, scenario analyses, and transition plans.
The Government has introduced minor amendments, such as grants for a two-year “climate-first” reporting phase, tighter integration of sustainability and financial reporting, and removal of delayed reporting relief, to ease the transition for UK businesses.
Who Will be Impacted by UK SRS?
UK Sustainability Reporting Standards will apply directly from January 2026 to large UK companies, listed entities and financial institutions.
However, this article focuses on organisations that sit outside formal scope, but inside regulated supply chains.
If you supply to a company that must comply with UK SRS, you are increasingly likely to be asked for:
- Structured ESG and emissions data
- Information to support customer Scope 3 disclosures
- Evidence of ownership, governance and controls
In practice, UK SRS elevates sustainability expectations across entire value chains, making indirect compliance a commercial necessity, not a regulatory one.
How Will UK SRS Change Expectations?
1. ESG Data Needs to Be Structured and Repeatable
Narrative responses and ad-hoc spreadsheets are no longer enough. Customers and investors increasingly expect consistent metrics, definitions and supporting evidence, even where organisations are not formally reporting.
2. Climate Comes First
Emissions data is often the first and most frequent request organisations receive. Scope 1–3 data is becoming a standard requirement as customers respond to their own IFRS S2 obligations.
3. Governance Matters More Than Perfection
Organisations are not expected to have perfect ESG data. They are expected to show clear ownership, controls and a credible plan to improve data quality over time.
4. ESG Is Moving Closer to Finance and Risk
Sustainability data is increasingly expected to align with financial and operational reporting, rather than sitting in isolation within the business.
5. Operational Readiness Is a Competitive Advantage
Organisations that can respond quickly and confidently to ESG requests reduce friction in tenders, renewals and funding discussions. Those that cannot often face delays, manual effort and reputational risk.
What You Need to Do to Prepare for UK SRS
1. Reduce Manual ESG Data Collection
For organisations responding to customer ESG requests rather than producing formal regulatory reports, manual data collection quickly becomes unsustainable.
Many still rely on spreadsheets, email trails and one-off surveys, which are difficult to scale and hard to audit.
To prepare, focus on:
- Automating ESG data collection wherever possible
- Standardising how sustainability data is captured across sites, teams and suppliers
- Assigning clear ownership for each ESG metric
Reducing manual effort early makes responses faster, more consistent and far less disruptive.
How Forge can help you
Forge helps organisations automate ESG data collection using Microsoft Power Platform. Power Apps enable structured, mobile-friendly data capture, while Power Automate replaces manual workflows with auditable, repeatable processes.
2. Create a Single, Trusted Source of ESG Data
Sustainability data often sits across finance, operations, HR, facilities and procurement. When ESG requests arrive, data has to be pulled together at speed, increasing risk and inconsistency.
Key steps include:
- Connecting ESG data from multiple systems into a central platform
- Applying consistent definitions, calculations and controls
- Ensuring data lineage and audit trails are built in
A single source of truth allows organisations to respond confidently without recreating data every time.
How Forge can help you
Forge helps organisations unify ESG, operational and financial data using Microsoft Fabric and Azure, creating a governed data foundation that supports current requests and future requirements.
3. Make ESG Performance Visible and Decision-Ready
Customers and investors want clarity, not raw data dumps.
Organisations should focus on:
- Turning ESG data into clear metrics, trends and benchmarks
- Tracking progress against targets over time
- Making performance visible to leadership, finance and risk owners
When sustainability data is accessible, it supports better decision-making and clearer external communication.
How Forge can help you
Forge helps organisations use Power BI to turn ESG and climate data into interactive dashboards that support internal insight and external reporting.
4. Strengthen Governance, Controls and Audit Readiness
Even when reporting indirectly, governance matters.
To prepare, organisations should:
- Define clear ownership for sustainability risks and data
- Embed ESG controls into existing finance and risk processes
- Ensure approvals, evidence and data lineage are easy to demonstrate
Strong governance builds trust with customers and investors and reduces friction during assurance or due diligence.
How Forge can help you
Forge supports organisations in embedding ESG governance and controls across Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Purview, improving visibility, traceability and audit readiness.
5. Protect ESG Data Across the Organisation and Supply Chain
Sustainability data often includes sensitive operational, financial and supplier information. As volumes grow, consistent security and access controls become essential.
Practical actions include:
- Applying consistent data protection policies
- Securing ESG data across cloud, on-premise and third-party environments
- Ensuring suppliers can provide reliable, secure disclosures
Protecting ESG data underpins credibility and regulatory confidence across the value chain.
How Forge can help you
Forge helps organisations secure ESG data flows across hybrid environments, ensuring sustainability and climate data remains protected, traceable and compliant.
Want to Talk Through What This Means for You?
If you’re starting to see more sustainability or emissions data requests from customers, investors or partners, you don’t need to have all the answers yet.
A short conversation can help you understand:
- Whether UK SRS is likely to affect you indirectly
- What data you’re most likely to be asked for first
- Where manual effort or risk is building today
- What a proportionate, right-sized response could look like
If you’d like to talk through your current position and what “being ready” means in practice, schedule time today with one of our executive advisors.
