What VSME is
The Voluntary reporting Standard for non-listed SMEs (VSME) is a simplified, voluntary sustainability reporting standard developed by EFRAG, published in December 2024. It's designed for companies that have no legal obligation to report under CSRD but still want or need to produce structured sustainability information — commonly because a bank, investor, or larger customer is asking for it.
Why this matters more after the Omnibus reforms
The EU's Omnibus reforms removed an estimated 80% of companies previously expecting to report under CSRD — see our CSRD Omnibus guide. Most of those companies didn't lose the underlying pressure to report: banks, investors, and larger customers in their supply chain still routinely ask for ESG data, just without a legal mandate forcing the larger company to demand it in a particular format.
The "value-chain cap"
A specific protection was built into the revised standards: large companies that remain in mandatory CSRD scope cannot demand more sustainability data from their value-chain partners than the VSME standard itself covers. In practice, this caps what a large customer can reasonably ask a smaller supplier to produce, using VSME as the ceiling.
What a VSME report typically includes
- Basic company and business model information
- A simplified set of environmental metrics (often including Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions at a basic level)
- Basic workforce and social information
- Governance disclosures, simplified relative to full ESRS
Is VSME reporting tagged in XBRL?
VSME is a voluntary standard, and digital tagging requirements for it are less settled than for mandatory CSRD reporting — if a bank or customer specifically requests a structured, machine-readable format, confirm exactly what they need before assuming a particular output format.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to use VSME if I'm no longer in CSRD scope?
No — VSME is entirely voluntary. It exists as an option for companies that want a recognised, simplified format to respond to sustainability data requests, not as a new legal obligation.
Can a large customer demand more than VSME covers from us?
If that customer is itself in mandatory CSRD scope, no — the value-chain cap specifically limits what they can ask value-chain partners to provide beyond what VSME covers.
Is VSME the same everywhere, or does it vary by country?
VSME is a single EU-wide voluntary standard developed by EFRAG, so it doesn't vary by EU member state the way some other reporting requirements can.