Fleet carbon reporting UK regulations 2025, how GPS data supports SECR compliance

UK fleet operators above certain size thresholds are required to report energy consumption and carbon emissions under the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) framework. Accurate fuel consumption and mileage data from GPS tracking is the most reliable basis for fleet carbon calculations. LockCar’s LFM platform provides the mileage and route data that supports SECR compliance reporting.

SECR requirements for UK fleet operators

The Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting framework requires UK quoted companies, large unquoted companies, and large limited liability partnerships to report their UK energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in their annual directors’ report. For transport-intensive businesses, fleet fuel consumption and associated carbon emissions represent a significant portion of total reported emissions.

Accurate fleet mileage data is the input from which fuel consumption is calculated. Without GPS-derived mileage records, fleet operators must rely on driver-reported mileage logs that are prone to inaccuracy, incomplete recording, and retrospective estimation. GPS tracking provides an objective, automatically generated mileage record for every journey made by every vehicle.

Using LFM data for carbon calculations

LockCar LFM records the distance covered in every trip by every fleet vehicle, with timestamps and route data. This mileage data can be exported by vehicle, by driver, by time period, and by route type, providing the granularity needed for different carbon calculation methodologies.

Fleet carbon calculations typically use the DEFRA emissions factors for vehicle fuel type and size, applied to total mileage by vehicle category. LFM mileage exports provide the mileage input by vehicle, which can be matched with vehicle fuel type and emissions factor data to produce a SECR-compliant carbon calculation.

LFM data also supports the more detailed Scope 1 and Scope 3 carbon reporting that larger organisations undertake under frameworks including the GHG Protocol and CDP reporting. Accurate, GPS-verified mileage data is accepted by carbon auditors as a primary data source for fleet emissions calculation.

LockCar recommended products

Top recommendation

LockCar LFM Fleet Platform

GPS mileage records, SECR data, fleet compliance

The LFM platform provides accurate GPS-derived mileage and route data for every fleet vehicle. This data forms the foundation for SECR carbon calculation and reporting for UK fleet operators.

LockCar Duo RH Plus, £359

4G GPS, precise mileage recording, LFM

Provides the 4G GPS hardware feeding accurate mileage data to LFM for SECR carbon reporting. Also includes relay immobiliser and dual-camera security.