SDR · the government’s package
UK sustainability disclosure rules
The UK sustainability disclosure requirements, or UK SDR, are the government’s economy-wide package first set out in HM Treasury’s Greening Finance roadmap of October 2021.
HM Treasury’s Implementation Update 2024 named the pieces: UK-endorsed ISSB standards, transition plan disclosures, the FCA’s labels and a green taxonomy.
Two years on, one piece has been dropped, one is still a consultation, and two are in force or made. This is where each stands.
Guide to sustainability disclosure requirements
What UK SDR is, in the government’s own words
Module 01 / 04
Key point 01
Module 02 / 04
Disclosure
Module 03 / 04
Disclosure · 2
Module 04 / 04
Key point 04
Informing: decision-useful sustainability information available to financial decision-makers.
Acting: that information built into business and financial decisions.
Shifting: financial flows aligned with a net-zero, nature-positive economy.
HM Treasury, Greening Finance roadmap, October 2021.
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
UK SDR started life on 18 October 2021 in HM Treasury’s Greening Finance: A Roadmap to Sustainable Investing.
The roadmap set out three phases and said the first, informing, would be delivered through “new economy-wide Sustainability Disclosure Requirements”.
It promised a regime that was integrated across investment products, financial services firms and real-economy companies, and that streamlined existing disclosure such as the UK’s commitment to TCFD-aligned reporting.
The Implementation Update 2024 describes SDR as “a framework to facilitate and streamline the flow of robust, decision useful information between corporates, consumers and investors and capital markets”.
So SDR is not a law or a rulebook: it is the government’s name for a set of separate instruments, each made by a different body.
The FCA also uses “SDR” for its own rules on fund labels and naming, which are one component, covered at the provision on FCA sustainability disclosure requirements.
The components
Each piece of UK SDR, and where it stands
The first four rows are the headings of the 2024 Implementation Update, in its order.
The fifth is the existing climate law SDR set out to streamline.
| Component | Delivered by | Instrument | Status on 1 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK-endorsed ISSB standards | DBT; FCA for listed companies | UK SRS S1 and S2; FCA PS26/19 | Standards published 25 Feb 2026 and voluntary; listing rules made, comply or explain from periods beginning 1 Jan 2027 |
| Transition plan disclosures | Government; FCA | DESNZ consultation; UKLR 6.6.6R(8)(e) from 2027 | Consultation closed 17 Sep 2025, no response; listed companies state whether a plan is published from 2027 |
| SDR and investment labels | FCA | PS23/16; ESG 4 and 5 | In force: anti-greenwashing from 31 May 2024, labels from 31 Jul 2024, entity reports by 2 Dec 2026 |
| UK Green Taxonomy | HM Treasury | Consultation Nov 2024 – Feb 2025 | Dropped on 15 Jul 2025 |
| Existing climate disclosures | DBT; FCA; DWP | CA 2006 ss.414CA–414CB; FCA ESG 2; SI 2021/839 | In force; FCA product-level TCFD reports removed 25 Sep 2026 |
The Update also welcomed the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures under a “nature-related disclosures” heading, without proposing any requirement.
Its dates are history now: it expected the UK-endorsed standards in the first quarter of 2025, and they were published on 25 February 2026.
The taxonomy decision is unambiguous: the government concluded that work to develop a UK Taxonomy “should therefore not proceed”.
The existing climate law is the Companies Act route, compared with the TCFD on TCFD UK requirements.
Your organisation
Which strands of SDR reach you
Module 01 / 04
Key point 01
Module 02 / 04
Listed categories
Module 03 / 04
Disclosure
Module 04 / 04
Disclosure · 2
UK SDR · which strands reach you
- AppliesCorporate disclosure — UK SRSReport against UK SRS S1 and S2 or explain, for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027; the TCFD statement until then.FCA PS26/19 ¶¶1.10, 3.6, 3.12
- StatementTransition plan disclosureState whether a climate transition plan is published and where, or why not. There is no duty to have one; the statement does not apply to UKLR 14 and 15.UKLR 6.6.6R(8)(e) from 1 Jan 2027
- AppliesCorporate disclosure — Companies ActEight climate-related financial disclosures in the strategic report (or, for most LLPs, the energy and carbon report) if more than 500 employees and in a qualifying class. UK SRS S2 can discharge them.CA 2006 ss.414CA–414CB; SI 2022/46
- AppliesAnti-greenwashingEvery sustainability reference about a product or service must be consistent with its characteristics and fair, clear and not misleading.ESG 4.3.1R, from 31 May 2024
- Not bindingThe UK Green TaxonomyDropped from SDR: on 15 July 2025 the government concluded that work to develop a UK Taxonomy should not proceed.HM Treasury, UK Green Taxonomy consultation response
Indicative, not advice.
Each strand has its own thresholds, set out on the pages linked below.
Nothing you enter leaves your browser.
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
SDR reaches different organisations through different instruments, and most organisations are caught by one or two strands, not all of them.
A listed company meets the corporate strand: UK SRS through the listing rules, the Companies Act disclosures, and the transition-plan statement.
A large private company meets only the Companies Act disclosures, if it passes their tests, and may use UK SRS voluntarily.
An asset manager meets the FCA’s strands: the TCFD entity report, the labels and naming rules if it uses them, and the SDR entity-level report.
Every FCA-authorised firm meets the anti-greenwashing rule.
Pension scheme trustees sit under a separate Department for Work and Pensions regime.
Tick every role that applies; the router lists each strand with its instrument.
Two acronyms
UK SDR is not UK SRS, and UK SRS was nearly called something else
Module 01 / 04
Standard
Module 02 / 04
Voluntary route
Module 03 / 04
Disclosure
Module 04 / 04
Disclosure · 2
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
UK SDR is the package; UK SRS is the pair of standards at the centre of its corporate strand.
UK SRS S1 and S2 were published by the Department for Business and Trade on 25 February 2026, and are voluntary for any entity no rule reaches.
In 2024 the working name was “UK Sustainability Disclosure Standards”, advised on by a UK Sustainability Disclosure Technical Advisory Committee.
The Implementation Update itself settled the name: the endorsed standards “will be known as UK Sustainability Reporting Standards”, which is why searches for “UK sustainability disclosure standards” still land here.
The department wrote to the FCA on 5 January 2026 ahead of the FCA’s consultation, and the government’s guidance page sets out how the standards are used.
The standards themselves are explained on what is UK SRS.
Listed and large companies
Sustainability disclosure requirements for public companies
Module 01 / 04
TCFD statement
Module 02 / 04
UK SRS S2 and S1
Module 03 / 04
Assurance statement
Module 04 / 04
Transition plan statement
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
| Requirement | Applies to | From | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| TCFD statement | Listed companies, UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22 | Periods beginning before 1 Jan 2027 | Comply or explain |
| UK SRS S2 and S1 | The same listed companies | Periods beginning on or after 1 Jan 2027 | Comply or explain, with reliefs |
| Assurance statement | The same | From 1 Jan 2027 | Say whether obtained, by whom, over what, to which standard |
| Transition plan statement | UKLR 6, 16 and 22 | From 1 Jan 2027 | Say whether published and where, or why not |
| Climate-related financial disclosures | Companies with more than 500 employees in a qualifying class | Years beginning on or after 6 Apr 2022 | Law; four of eight limbs may be omitted with reasons |
| SECR | Quoted companies, and large unquoted companies and LLPs | In force | Law |
The FCA’s final rules reach listed companies in five categories: commercial companies, secondary listings, depositary receipts, non-equity shares and the transition category.
Consultation paper CP26/5 had proposed a mandatory S2 core for three of those categories and a signposting statement for the other two; the final rules put all five on comply or explain.
No private-company UK SRS requirement has been proposed; the government’s modernising corporate reporting consultation, open until 30 November 2026, says only that it will consider how UK SRS should be reflected in the Companies Act.
In 2026 itself, no new obligation starts for companies: UK SRS is voluntary, and the listing rules bite from 2027.
Who reports under each TCFD route is on TCFD reporting requirements.
When does SDR come into force?
UK SDR, date by date
Module 01 / 02
Key point 01
Module 02 / 02
Proposal
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
- 18 October 202101
Greening Finance roadmap
HM Treasury sets out economy-wide Sustainability Disclosure Requirements.
- 28 November 202302
FCA SDR made
PS23/16: labels, naming and marketing, anti-greenwashing, disclosures.
- 16 May 202403
Implementation Update
HM Treasury names the components and says the endorsed standards will be called UK SRS.
- 31 May 202404
Anti-greenwashing rule applies
To every FCA-authorised firm.
- 31 July 202405
Labels available
Qualifying managers may use the four labels.
- 2 December 202406
Naming and marketing longstop
The FCA’s naming rules apply by this date at the latest.
- 15 July 202507
Taxonomy dropped
Work on a UK Green Taxonomy should not proceed.
- 25 June – 17 September 202508
Transition plan consultation
Closed; no government response published.
- 25 February 202609
UK SRS S1 and S2 published
Voluntary UK-endorsed ISSB standards.
- 25 September 202610
FCA product-level TCFD reports removed
FCA 2026/59 in force.
- 30 September 202611
FCA final rules on UK SRS
PS26/19: comply or explain for listed companies.
- 2 December 202612
SDR entity reports
Due from managers with £5bn or more that are not enhanced firms.
- 1 January 202713
Listing rules in force
For accounting periods beginning on or after this date; first reports in 2028.
The FCA’s rules are read at the ESG sourcebook, made in PS23/16, with anti-greenwashing guidance consulted on as GC23/3.
The transition plan consultation is the DESNZ consultation, and what UK SRS asks about plans is on transition plans under UK SRS.
Assurance
ISSA (UK) 5000 and SDR: adjacent, not a component
Module 01 / 04
Listed categories
Module 02 / 04
Assurance
Module 03 / 04
Reporting period
Module 04 / 04
Assurance · 2
UK SRS and SECR do not require general sustainability assurance.
From 2027 listed companies say whether they did, and if so who provided it, over what, at what level and to which standard.
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
Assurance is often listed as a fourth pillar of UK SDR, but neither the 2021 roadmap nor the 2024 Update names it as a component.
The FRC’s ISSA (UK) 5000 is a standard for how an assurance engagement is performed, for voluntary use.
It is effective for engagements on sustainability information for periods beginning on or after 15 December 2026, or as at a date on or after that day, and earlier application is permitted.
The government published its response on an oversight regime for sustainability assurance providers on 30 January 2026, following its consultation.
How the standard works is on ISSA (UK) 5000.
Tools
Software and UK SDR
Module 01 / 04
Key point 01
Module 02 / 04
Method
Module 03 / 04
Disclosure
Module 04 / 04
Key point 04
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
No product covers “all of SDR”, because its strands ask different organisations different questions.
Carbon and sustainability reporting platforms address the corporate strand: activity data, emission factors and reports against frameworks such as UK SRS.
A fund’s label, name and consumer-facing disclosure are compliance judgements made against the FCA’s rules, not data outputs.
This site does not rank vendors; the categories of tool are described on sustainability software.
Frequently asked
UK SDR: questions people ask
What are the UK Sustainability Disclosure Requirements?
UK SDR is the government’s economy-wide package for sustainability disclosure, first set out in HM Treasury’s Greening Finance roadmap of October 2021.
HM Treasury’s 2024 Implementation Update lists its components: the UK-endorsed ISSB standards (now UK SRS), transition plan disclosures, the FCA’s SDR and investment labels, and a UK Green Taxonomy, which the government dropped in July 2025.
Is UK SDR the same as UK SRS?
No. UK SRS S1 and S2 are two corporate reporting standards, published by the Department for Business and Trade on 25 February 2026.
They are one component of UK SDR.
SDR also covers the FCA’s rules for investment products and the firms that sell them, and the government’s work on transition plans.
When does SDR come into force?
There is no single date, because SDR is a package.
The FCA’s anti-greenwashing rule applies from 31 May 2024 and labels were available from 31 July 2024.
UK SRS were published on 25 February 2026 and are voluntary, and the FCA’s final rules require listed companies to report against them, or explain, for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027.
What sustainability disclosure requirements apply to public companies?
A UK listed company reports against UK SRS on a comply-or-explain basis for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, and makes a TCFD statement for earlier periods.
If it has more than 500 employees it also gives the Companies Act climate-related financial disclosures, and as a quoted company it reports under SECR.
From 2027 it also states whether it has obtained assurance and whether it has published a transition plan.
Which new sustainability disclosure obligations start in 2026?
For companies, none: UK SRS is voluntary, and the listing rules apply from accounting periods beginning on 1 January 2027.
For asset managers, the FCA removed product-level TCFD reports on 25 September 2026, and managers with £5bn or more that are not enhanced firms must publish their SDR entity-level report by 2 December 2026.
Is there a UK green taxonomy?
No. On 15 July 2025 the government concluded that a UK Taxonomy would not support its vision for the sector and that work to develop one should not proceed.
Are transition plans mandatory in the UK?
No. The government consulted on transition plan requirements from 25 June to 17 September 2025 and has not published a response.
From 2027 the FCA’s listing rules ask listed companies to say whether they have published a transition plan and where, or why not, without requiring one.
Is assurance part of UK SDR?
The government’s SDR documents do not list assurance as a component.
UK SRS and SECR do not require general sustainability assurance.
The FRC’s ISSA (UK) 5000 is for voluntary use, effective for periods beginning on or after 15 December 2026 with earlier application permitted, and from 2027 listed companies state whether they obtained assurance.
Is there software that covers all of UK SDR?
Not in any meaningful sense, because the components answer different questions: a company’s climate and sustainability reporting, a fund’s label and name, and a firm’s transition planning.
Reporting software typically addresses the first. This site does not rank or recommend vendors.
Prepare the evidence
UK sustainability disclosure requirements: from a requirement to a reporting pack
Use this preparation sequence alongside the detailed requirements on this page.
An editorial workflow, not a statutory schedule.
- Stage 0101
Current route
Identify the current legal or voluntary route rather than assuming the TCFD still regulates it.
- Stage 0202
Governance
Document oversight of climate-related risks and opportunities.
- Stage 0303
Strategy
Connect climate issues and resilience analysis to the organisation’s strategy.
- Stage 0404
Risk management
Explain how climate risks enter the existing risk process.
- Stage 0505
Metrics and targets
Trace emissions, targets and performance measures to their methods.
- Stage 0606
Transition mapping
Compare the disclosure with the applicable successor requirements.
Read the applicable instrument: Greening Finance: A Roadmap to Sustainable Investing (18 October 2021)
A practical brief
An evidence pack, with a clear review trail
Ask for a pack that lets the next reviewer retrace the scope decision, follow the evidence and understand the limitations.
This describes a useful handover; it does not certify compliance or establish that a vendor or adviser delivers it.
Module 01 / 04
Applicability record
Write down the entity, reporting route and relevant period, including why the route applies.
Module 02 / 04
Evidence register
Attach each reported figure or statement to its source, method, version and limitations.
Module 03 / 04
Review trail
Name the preparer, reviewer, open questions and decisions taken before publication.
Module 04 / 04
Usable handover
Retain the working files and unresolved actions so the next reporting cycle can reuse the evidence.
View the preparation diagram
- Prepare01
Create the traceable pack
Keep the input records, calculation files and narrative together.
- Challenge02
Resolve questions before publication
Record the assumptions challenged and any limitations still unresolved.
- Retain03
Make the next cycle reproducible
Keep the approved version and the actions carried forward.
Continue your research
Related guides, one question at a time
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner.
Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
- HM TreasuryGreening Finance: A Roadmap to Sustainable Investing (18 October 2021)
Where economy-wide SDR was first set out: informing, acting, shifting.
- HM TreasurySustainability Disclosure Requirements: Implementation Update 2024
Published 16 May 2024: the components of SDR and who delivers each.
- HM TreasuryImplementation Update 2024 (PDF), ¶¶1.1–1.19
The component headings and the naming of UK Sustainability Reporting Standards.
- Department for Business and TradeUK Sustainability Reporting Standards: UK SRS S1 and UK SRS S2
Published 25 February 2026, voluntary for any entity.
- Department for Business and TradeUK Sustainability Reporting Standards — guidance
The government’s page on who uses the standards and how.
- Department for Business and TradeLetter to the Financial Conduct Authority on UK SRS (5 January 2026)
The department’s letter to the FCA ahead of its consultation on listing rules.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS26/19 — Aligning listed issuers’ sustainability disclosures with international standards
Final rules: UK SRS on a comply-or-explain basis from 2027.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityCP26/5 (PDF)
The consultation PS26/19 finalised.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS23/16 — Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) and investment labels
The FCA’s investment-product component, made 28 November 2023.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityGC23/3 — guidance consultation on the anti-greenwashing rule
The consultation behind FG24/3.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityFCA Handbook, ESG 4.3
The anti-greenwashing rule and the naming rules.
- Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroClimate-related transition plan requirements — consultation
Ran 25 June to 17 September 2025; no government response yet.
- HM TreasuryUK Green Taxonomy consultation response (15 July 2025)
Work to develop a UK Taxonomy “should therefore not proceed”.
- Department for Business, Innovation, Science and TradeModernising corporate reporting — consultation
Open 7 September to 30 November 2026; no private-company UK SRS requirement proposed.
- legislation.gov.ukCompanies Act 2006, section 414CB
The existing climate-related financial disclosures SDR set out to streamline.
- Financial Reporting CouncilAssurance standards, including ISSA (UK) 5000
The FRC’s sustainability assurance standard, for voluntary use.
- Department for Business and TradeAssurance of sustainability reporting — consultation and government response
The oversight regime for assurance providers, response published 30 January 2026.
Continue reading