EU Commission official recommendation to use the standard for voluntary sustainability reporting for SMEs

30 de julio 2025

Commission Recommendation on a voluntary sustainability reporting standard for small and medium-sized undertakings

The objective of this voluntary Standard is to support micro-, small- and medium-sized undertakings in:

(a) providing information that will help satisfy the data needs of large undertakings requesting sustainability information from their suppliers;

(b) providing information that will help satisfy data needs from banks and investors, therefore helping undertakings in their access to finance;

(c) improving the management of the sustainability issues they face, i.e. environmental and social challenges such as pollution, workforce health and safety. This will support their competitive growth and enhance their resilience in the short-, medium- and long-term; and

(d) contributing to a more sustainable and inclusive economy.

2. This Standard is voluntary. It applies to undertakings 1 whose securities are not admitted to trading on a regulated market in the European Union (not listed). [Article 3 of Directive 2013/34/EU] defines three categories of small- and medium-sized undertakings based on their balance sheet total, their net turnover and their average number of employees during the financial year.

(a) An undertaking is micro if it does not exceed two of the following thresholds: i. €450,000 in balance sheet total; ii. €900,000 in net turnover; and iii. an average of 10 employees.

(b) An undertaking is small if it does not exceed two of the following thresholds: i. €5 million in balance sheet total; ii. €10 million in net turnover; and iii. an average of 50 employees.

(c) An undertaking is medium if it does not exceed two of the following thresholds: i. €25 million in balance sheet total; ii. €50 million in net turnover; and iii. an average of 250 employees.

3. These undertakings fall outside the scope of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) but are encouraged to use this Standard. This Standard covers the same sustainability issues as the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) for large undertakings. However, it is proportionate and therefore takes into account micro-, small- and medium-sized undertakings’ fundamental characteristics. Microundertakings are welcome to use only certain parts of this Standard as highlighted in paragraph 5(a).

4. Consistency with ESRS for large undertakings has been carefully considered in the preparation of this Standard while defining proportionate requirements. This Standard has no legal authority unlike the ESRS for large undertakings.

VSME Standard: https://lnkd.in/dkDicN7N

Practical Implementation Guidance: https://lnkd.in/dd-nApp7

Q&A Document: https://lnkd.in/dEEC7SGA