Environment Agency confirms enforcement approach for ESOS Action Plans

The Environment Agency (EA) has set out the government’s enforcement position for firms in scope of ESOS who fail to submit an Action Plan.

Action Plans are a new addition to the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS), with a deadline of 5^th March 2025. They require firms to state which measures they will take to reduce energy consumption, projected savings, and timelines for implementation. Organisations will also be required to submit progress updates annually for the two years following submission.  

Action plans as a legal requirement

The official government ESOS guidance had previously stated that if organisations did not submit an Action Plan, then by default it would be recorded and published that they did not intend to carry out an energy saving. However, it has now ruled out non-submission as an option.

In its latest newsletter, the EA says:

“It’s a legal requirement for organisations that qualify for ESOS to submit their action plan, by a set deadline, following submission of the notification of compliance. The Environment Agency has powers to take enforcement action to require compliance if this is not done.

The Environment Agency will publish all action plans that are submitted. If no action plan is provided, there will be nothing for the Environment Agency to publish and so it will be apparent from the absence of a plan that the ESOS participant is in breach of the legal requirement. The Environment Agency will not, in these circumstances, publish a statement to say that no measures are proposed (note, this is different to what was originally stated in the guidance on complying with ESOS on gov.uk).”

The ESOS Action Plan deadline is 5^th March 2025. If you would like advice or support on producing your plan, get in touch with one of Sustainable Energy First’s ESOS lead assessors.