Voluntary standard sustainability reporting: how can your SME benefit?
November 2024 - The Voluntary Reporting Standard for SMEs (VSME) is an initiative of the European Union and EFRAG. It provides unlisted SMEs with a standardised way to report sustainability information.
Why use the VSME?
The VSME provides an accessible method to share sustainability efforts. This makes it easier for you to meet the ESG data requests of your partners (customers, suppliers, investors, etc.) and strengthen your competitive position.
Is your business eligible?
To be eligible for the VSME as an SME, your company must meet certain criteria:
Number of employees:
• Micro enterprise: up to 10 employees
• Small enterprise: up to 50 employees
• Medium-sized enterprise: up to 250 employees
Annual turnover or balance sheet total:
• Micro enterprise: annual turnover up to 900,000 euro or balance sheet total up to 450,000 euro
• Small enterprise: annual turnover up to 10 million euro or balance sheet total up to 5 million euro
• Medium-sized enterprise: annual turnover up to 50 million euro or balance sheet total up to 25 million euro
In addition, your SME must operate autonomously and must not be controlled by larger companies (more than 25% ownership).
The VSME consists of three modules:
1. Basic module (mandatory): provides basic information on environmental, social and governance issues.
2. Narrative module (optional): for qualitative information on sustainability goals and actions.
3. Business partner module (optional): provides insight into the impact of your supply chain.
