ESOS Phase 4’s compliance year is 2027, with a likely deadline of December 2027. However, organisations can start their site energy audits now and much of the data collected for Phase 3 will be used in Phase 4 due to the increased data requirements passed in 2023. In this article, we'll break down what you can expect from Phase 4.
There have been no changes yet to the qualifying criteria for ESOS Phase 4 from Phase 3. This means that organisations that qualify for ESOS will include:
There has been a strong suggestion that the ESOS balance sheet and turnover thresholds will be changed to align with the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) scheme. there are already advantages to combining ESOS and SECR, but if it does pass it will mean more organisations will be required to comply with ESOS.
There has also been speculation that Phase 4 will include smaller businesses to accelerate the UK’s net zero targets. This remains unconfirmed, however, and it is unlikely that the government will announce changes before the ESOS Phase 3 deadline ends.
No, but ESOS Phase 3 was scheduled to finish in December 2023. In June 2023 the Environment Agency announced that the Phase 3 compliance deadline was extended to June 2024. This was due to the ESOS Phase 3 changes that placed extra data requirements on the compliance criteria. If you haven’t started your Phase 3 ESOS compliance yet, it’s paramount that you do so soon due to the scarcity of available lead assessors.
Alongside the potential SECR alignment, there will likely be several new changes which could include:
Like the increased data changes for ESOS Phase 3 that came about in 2023, Phase 4 is likely to involve a significantly larger undertaking on organisations compared to ESOS Phase 3. With the government’s 2050 target drawing ever nearer ESOS is now becoming much more than a box-ticking exercise and the SECR alignment, should it happen, will empower more businesses to accelerate their decarbonisation.
Has your Phase 3 compliance taken into consideration Phase 4? Have you considered all the advantages preparing ahead could bring? Whatever position your organisation is on its ESOS journey, our experts can ensure you are in the best possible position to maximise it. Book a call to discuss further through the form below.