SERVICES | ESOS compliance
ESOS compliance
The Government’s Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) is a mandatory energy assessment scheme (for qualifying companies) which aims to make UK businesses more energy efficient.
Proud to have worked with:
Your trusted ESOS advisor
With over 600 audits completed to date and a 100% compliance rate, we are well positioned to support your organisation through ESOS Phase 4.
As well as the expertise and tailor-made tools for a smooth compliance process, we have a national team of accredited advisors and ESOS Lead Assessors who will ensure your compliance with the scheme and, importantly, help you to maximise the energy saving opportunities identified.
Under the Government’s Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) all organisations with more than 250 employees, or a turnover of more than £44m and an annual balance sheet total in excess of £38 million, are obliged to complete an energy audit to identify energy saving opportunities and to register their compliance under ESOS with the Environment Agency.
Any organisation that is certified to the energy management standard ISO 50001 has automatic compliance with ESOS, although changes to the requirements for ESOS Phase 3 mean that additional detail is required.
- Qualification Date: 31 December 2026
- Compliance Deadline: 5 December 2027
Organisations must assess their eligibility based on their status as of 31 December 2026. If your organisation meets the criteria on that date, you will be required to comply with ESOS Phase 4.
To ensure timely compliance and maximise the benefits of energy efficiency, consider the following steps:
Data Collection Systems – Implement or enhance systems to collect and organise energy consumption data consistently across your organisation. This includes data on buildings, industrial processes, and transport.
Identify Significant Energy Consumption – Analyse your energy data to identify areas of significant consumption, which must be covered in your ESOS audit.
Appoint a Lead Assessor – Engage a qualified ESOS Lead Assessor to guide your compliance process.
Conduct Energy Audits – Plan and execute energy audits covering at least 95% of your total energy consumption. These audits should identify cost-effective energy efficiency opportunities.
Develop an Action Plan – Based on audit findings, create a detailed plan outlining steps to reduce energy consumption, timelines, and expected savings.
Monitor and Report Progress – Establish processes to track the implementation of energy-saving measures and report progress as required.
By proactively addressing these areas, your organisation can ensure compliance with ESOS Phase 4 and realise potential energy and cost savings.
The biggest challenge to completing ESOS audits on time is collation of data. There is now time, before the next compliance date to ensure that systems are put into place to collect and organise data in a consistent and appropriate manner. Having collated the data, there is a lot it can tell you about your energy use and where savings can be made.
To get the most out of ESOS, to avoid excess costs and to ensure compliance, now is a good time to start planning for Phase 4. If you would like our help, here are four good reasons to talk to us.
Appointing us as your lead assessor will give you:
- Guaranteed compliance by the due date – or your money back! (subject to full and correct provision of company information)
- A free ESOS Organiser to help you manage the opportunities identified.
- A free user licence for Project Activator, our dynamic, user-friendly, web-based reporting tool to organise and track progress of improvement projects. (For qualifying organisations only. To find out if your organisation qualifies, please get in touch.)
- Sector expertise – your audit will be carried out by someone with expertise in your sector which means a more meaningful process from which you will get more value
To streamline the collation and organisation of ESOS audit information and ensure full compliance, we have developed a purpose-built ESOS Organiser tool. It securely stores and links all compliance data, analysis, and evidence in a clear, accessible format for all stakeholders.
This allows the Environment Agency to review reports quickly and efficiently, resulting in a more time- and cost-effective audit for our customers.
The ESOS Organiser can be used in isolation or with our other purpose-built software tool, [Project Activator]. Where customers’ goal is the long term implementation and management of all energy related projects, our dynamic, web-based reporting tool is recommended to organise and track progress of improvement projects
What happens if I don’t comply?
Phase 3 demonstrated increased enforcement activity from the Environment Agency. Late submissions increased risk, errors required resubmission and enforcement action increased, with 36 financial penalties issued at the time of reporting.
Indicative penalties included:
Up to £5,000 for record-keeping or notification breaches
Up to £50,000 plus £500 per day (capped at £40,000) for failure to complete audits
Total potential exposure of up to ~£90,000, excluding publication and enforcement costs
This reflects greater scrutiny, less tolerance for delays and clearer expectations going into Phase 4. AND you still have to take steps to comply with ESOS.
Get in touch
Get ahead of ESOS Phase 4 – speak to our accredited Lead Assessors today to ensure compliance, uncover energy savings, and avoid costly penalties.
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