The VSME is EFRAG's voluntary sustainability reporting standard for non-listed SMEs, delivered in December 2024 and endorsed through a Commission Recommendation in 2025. It offers a basic module and a comprehensive module, sized so that small companies can respond to the sustainability data requests they increasingly receive from banks, investors and large customers subject to CSRD value-chain reporting — the standard's explicit purpose is to cap and standardise those requests (the "value-chain cap"). EFRAG's position is that no materiality assessment is required for the basic module: the standard is applied if applicable to the undertaking. VSME is voluntary and designed for proportionality. The Commission's recommendation positions VSME as the reference for voluntary SME reporting and the ceiling for data requests in value chains. Digital tools and national guidance are emerging to help small suppliers complete the basic module without consultants. Using this framework does not by itself verify data accuracy, legal compliance or sustainability performance.
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