Does the SECR reporting period need to align with my company’s financial year?

According to the official SECR guidance, organisations are encouraged to align all information to their financial years, “to aid comparability and consistency of information across reports and organisations.”

However, it’s not mandatory. The guidance states that: “The obligation is to disclose annual figures for emissions and energy use. If the annual period used is not the same as the financial year covered by the relevant Report, this must be made clear in the Report.”