What VSME is, and who needs it
4 min read · Updated 23 settembre 2026
VSME is the voluntary sustainability reporting standard for non-listed small and medium-sized undertakings, recommended by the European Commission in Recommendation (EU) 2025/1710. It is not a law and it does not apply to you by force of a regulation: you use it when somebody asks you for sustainability data, and you want to give it in a shape the recipient understands.
Why anyone asks for it
Small companies rarely report for themselves. The questions arrive from outside: a bank arranging a loan, a large customer running a tender, an insurer, sometimes a public call. Each of them used to bring its own questionnaire — and that is the problem VSME addresses: one set of datapoints you can send to all of them instead of filling five different forms.
What it is made of
- Basic module (B1–B11) — basis for preparation, energy and greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, biodiversity, water, circular economy, workforce, health and safety, payment practices, business conduct. This is the core, and for most companies it is enough.
- Comprehensive module (C1–C9) — further disclosures for those whose recipient asks for them: strategy, risks, targets, climate transition, workers in the value chain.
At the start the company picks option A (Basic module only) or option B (Basic and Comprehensive). The choice holds for the whole reporting period and is written into the report itself.
What it is not
VSME does not make a company «CSRD compliant», and it is not an audit. A VSME report is your statement about your data. If somebody checks it later, they will look at the sources: invoices, meters, service reports. Which is why it pays to keep the evidence next to the figure from day one, rather than in a separate folder.
When to start
The worst moment for a first report is the week somebody demands one. Last year's data is then scattered across invoices, e-mail and one colleague's memory. A first report is worth preparing calmly, for a closed year, and extending afterwards.