UK listed firms could be legally required to report on their carbon footprint as part of their annual reports after the House of Lords last night voted in favour of an amendment to the Climate Change Bill that would allow the government to introduce mandatory carbon reporting standards.

Environment minister Lord Rooker accepted the amendment, which is supported by both main opposition parties and would give the environment secretary the power to introduce new measures demanding public disclosure of firms' greenhouse gas emissions as part of their annual report.

Andrew Raingold, public affairs manager at The Aldersgate Group, a green lobby group which promotes carbon reporting standards and has been calling for the amendment's adoption, welcomed the result.

"If the amendment is fully adopted it means that as soon as there is an international consensus on carbon reporting standards the secretary of state will be able to enact them without returning to parliament again," he said.

He added that the amendment had strong cross party support, as well as the endorsement of business groups and NGOs. "It could yet be watered down but we're very hopeful it will be adopted," he said. "The adoption of mandatory reporting would provide the transparency needed to drive change within corporations and offer investors and consumers the information they require to make informed decisions."

Aldersgate Group member, Lord Whitty, who tabled the original amendment, agreed that a standardised system of carbon accounting was urgently required to provide firms with a further incentive to curb emissions and ensure "that carbon is effectively traded on a verifiable and equitable basis".

The move is likely to fuel calls from environmental and business groups for more firms to embrace carbon reporting measures voluntarily before they are mandated to publish emissions data.