The European Commission has officially adopted a recommendation on voluntary reporting for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). These voluntary standards, known as VSMEs, are a scaled-back version of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) used for reporting under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). A recent Linklaters memo discusses the VSMEs, stating:
“The VSME Standard was developed by EFRAG, the Commission’s technical advisory body for sustainability reporting. EFRAG conducted a public consultation on the VSME Exposure Draft from 22 January 2024 to 21 May 2024. On 17 December 2024 EFRAG delivered its technical advice to the Commission – see EFRAG VSME page. In its press release, EFRAG announced that it will mark the launch of the Standard and discuss next steps at a public event in September 2025. “
The VSMEs are designed to provide a streamlined reporting framework for companies outside the CSRD’s scope. In addition to helping companies report voluntarily, the standards are also aligned with CSRD disclosures. This feature helps SMEs in large company supply chains report information in a format that is consistent with their large company partners. This should help standardize information requests and bring more transparency and ease to companies required to report on their supply chain activities under the CSRD.
Members can learn more about CSRD reporting here.
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