UK SRS S2: the climate standard at a glance

UK SRS S2 is the UK climate-related disclosure standard. It is the UK endorsement of the ISSB’s IFRS S2, published by the Department for Business and Trade on 25 February 2026 alongside UK SRS S1 and available for voluntary use. It tells companies what to disclose about their climate-related risks and opportunities, organised around four pillars: governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets.

UK SRS S1 is the general standard — it sets out how an entity reports on any sustainability-related risk or opportunity that could affect its prospects. UK SRS S2 is the climate-specific standard that applies those general requirements to climate. In short, S1 is the framework and S2 is the first topic-specific application of it. The two are designed to be used together, and the FCA proposes that climate (S2) come into force before the broader S1 requirements.

UK SRS S2 inherits the four-pillar structure that climate reporters know from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). IFRS S2 — which the UK endorsed as S2 — fully incorporates the TCFD’s recommendations, and the TCFD itself was disbanded in October 2023 once the ISSB took on its monitoring role. The practical shift is from largely qualitative TCFD narrative to specific, quantified, paragraph-referenced metrics.

Not yet. UK SRS S2 is currently voluntary for all entities. The FCA’s CP26/5 proposes making it mandatory for in-scope listed companies — those in UK Listing Rules categories 6, 16 and 22, around 500 companies — for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027. Those are proposals: the consultation closed on 20 March 2026 and the FCA is expected to publish a Policy Statement with final rules in autumn 2026.

Yes. UK SRS S2 requires absolute gross greenhouse-gas emissions classified into Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3, measured under the GHG Protocol. For in-scope listed companies, the FCA proposes that Scope 3 be reported on a comply-or-explain basis with one year of transitional relief from initial application — so Scope 3 effectively follows a year behind the rest of S2.

Under the FCA’s CP26/5 proposals, around 500 primary-listed companies in UK Listing Rules categories 6, 16 and 22 would have to report against UK SRS S2 for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027. Secondary listings and depositary receipts in UKLR categories 14 and 15 are not brought into the substantive standard; they would instead make a transparency statement identifying the sustainability standard used in their home jurisdiction. The thresholds are not based on the old premium- or standard-listing labels, which no longer exist under the current Listing Rules.

Almost. UK SRS S2 is the UK endorsement of the ISSB’s IFRS S2, adopted with six narrow UK-specific amendments rather than a rewrite, so the substance is the international standard. The amendments adjust matters such as the effective date and certain reliefs to fit the UK context; the four-pillar structure, the seven cross-industry climate metrics and the GHG Protocol basis are carried over unchanged. A company that reports under IFRS S2 is therefore very close to UK SRS S2 compliance.

Yes. The strategy pillar of UK SRS S2 requires an entity to use climate-related scenario analysis to assess the resilience of its strategy and business model, using an approach commensurate with its circumstances. The standard does not prescribe a fixed set of scenarios for every reporter; the disclosure obligation is the entity’s interpretation of what the analysis means for the business, supported by the methodology and assumptions it used.