The ESOS Action Plan feature is now live in the MESOS reporting system, providing Phase 3 participants with the opportunity to submit their plans ahead of the official deadline.
While regulators have granted a grace period until 5th March 2025, timely submission is highly recommended to avoid being publicly listed by the Environment Agency as not having made a commitment.
Action Plans: A Legal Requirement
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), requiring 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.
The official government ESOS guidance had previously stated that if organisations did not submit an Action Plan, it would be recorded and published that they did not intend to carry out an energy saving. However, this option has now been ruled out. The Environment Agency has clarified that it is a legal requirement for organisations qualifying for ESOS to submit their action plan by the set deadline following submission of the notification of compliance. Failure to do so will be a breach of the legal requirement, and the EA has the authority to take enforcement action.
The EA has stated:
“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).”