{"id":5918,"date":"2026-08-27T11:10:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T10:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/icompliance.eu\/resources\/vsme-explained-a-practical-guide-for-smes\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T11:17:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T10:17:50","slug":"vsme-explained-a-practical-guide-for-smes","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/icompliance.eu\/en\/resources\/vsme-explained-a-practical-guide-for-smes\/","title":{"rendered":"VSME Explained: A Practical Guide for SMEs"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tResources<\/a> \/<\/span> VSME: A Practical Guide\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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VSME \u00b7 Voluntary Sustainability Report<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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VSME explained: a practical guide for SMEs not subject to the CSRD<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Not falling within the mandatory scope of the CSRD does not mean you no longer need to report on ESG. The VSME is the voluntary standard designed by the European Commission specifically for SMEs that need to provide information to banks, investors and customers, without the level of rigour required by the CSRD. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tContact iCompliance \u2192<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSee pillar \u2192<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Why do SMEs not covered by the CSRD still need to report on ESG?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The narrowing of the CSRD\u2019s mandatory scope, under Directive (EU) 2026\/470, has removed many SMEs from the legal obligation to report. However, the demand for ESG information has not disappeared: banks assess credit risk using ESG criteria, investors request it as part of their due diligence, and large companies subject to the CSRD need data from their suppliers to comply with their own value chain reporting requirements. Without a standardised format, SMEs would end up responding to ad hoc questionnaires, which differed for each client or bank. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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What is VSME?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The VSME (Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard for SMEs) is a voluntary standard, adopted by the European Commission by means of a delegated act in 2026, designed specifically for SMEs \u2014 with requirements proportionate to their size and resources, in contrast to the comprehensive ESRS under the CSRD. It is structured into two modules: <\/p>

Basic Module<\/strong> \u2014 an essential set of environmental, social and governance indicators, designed as a minimal, structured response to requests from third parties.<\/p>

Comprehensive Module <\/strong>\u2014 provides more detailed disclosures, relevant to SMEs that form part of the value chain of a company subject to the CSRD and need to provide more granular data.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Who should consider VSME<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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SMEs that already receive regular ESG requests from banks or investors; suppliers to large companies subject to the CSRD; and any SME wishing to credibly demonstrate its ESG performance to customers and partners, without having to set up a reporting process that is disproportionate to its size.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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How to get started, in practice<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The typical process begins by identifying who is requesting ESG information from the company (and how often), choosing between the Basic and Comprehensive modules based on these requests, mapping the data already available internally, and filling in the gaps using a simple, repeatable data collection process \u2014 so that one year\u2019s report can serve as the basis for the next, rather than starting from scratch.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Which VSME module is suitable for your situation?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA 30-minute discussion to review the ESG requests received and determine which module (Basic or Comprehensive) is best suited to your SME.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDownload the VSME \/ CSRD Checklist \u2192<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Related<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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CSRD in practice: 5 steps to auditable reporting<\/a><\/p>

From risk registration to resilience with ISO 31000<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Frequently Asked Questions<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Frequently asked questions about VSME<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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What is VSME?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard for SMEs, a simplified voluntary standard from the European Commission, comprising Basic and Comprehensive modules.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Is the VSME compulsory?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo. It becomes relevant when banks, investors or major clients request structured ESG information from SMEs outside the scope of the CSRD. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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B\u00e1sico ou Abrangente?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe \u2018Basic\u2019 package covers essential indicators; the \u2018Comprehensive\u2019 package provides further detail, which is useful for SMEs in the value chain of companies subject to the CSRD.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Build resilience. Make better decisions. <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLet\u2019s assess your priorities and draw up a practical plan \u2014 together.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tContactar a iCompliance \u2192<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Resources \/ VSME: A Practical Guide VSME \u00b7 Voluntary Sustainability Report VSME explained: a practical guide for SMEs not subject to the CSRD Not falling within the mandatory scope of the CSRD does not mean you no longer need to report on ESG. The VSME is the voluntary standard designed by the European Commission specifically […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1834,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_ice_seo_score":0,"_ice_review":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5918","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/icompliance.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/icompliance.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/icompliance.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icompliance.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icompliance.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5918"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/icompliance.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5939,"href":"https:\/\/icompliance.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5918\/revisions\/5939"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icompliance.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/icompliance.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}