The Voluntary Small and Medium Size Enterprise (VSME) is a simplified and voluntary framework based on the CSRD directive, specifically designed for companies that are not subject to the mandatory reporting requirements of the standard CSRD. Its purpose is to facilitate the involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises in transparency efforts without imposing excessive obligations.
1. Voluntary CSRD Framework
The VSME was initially created to meet the needs of unlisted small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as micro-enterprises with fewer than 250 employees, by offering them a simplified and voluntary reporting framework.
2. SME Oriented
Thanks to the "Omnibus" proposal, which seeks to simplify the current CSRD legislation, the scope of application of the VSME could be extended to all companies with less than 1,000 employees, except for those under Wave 1 of the CSRD, who will have to start their mandatory reporting as early as 2025.
3. Designed with Proportionality
The VSME is structured to align reporting requirements with the actual size, resources, and capacities of SMEs, thus avoiding an excessive administrative burden.
4. No DMA or Audit Requirements
The VSME’s voluntary framework excludes the most technical and complex stages of standard CSRD reporting, such as the preparation of detailed reports (DMA – Disclosure Management Approach) or the obligation of external audits, making adoption much easier.
5. 85% Reduced Workload
Compared to the full CSRD requirements, the VSME covers only a limited fraction of the data points, allowing companies to reduce their workload by approximately 85% while still reporting the most relevant information.
6. 100% inter-opérable avec le standard CSRD
All the data points included in the VSME are fully compatible with those of the standard CSRD, meaning that information collected under the VSME can easily be reused or "recycled" if the company later opts for or is required to comply with the full CSRD framework.
7. What you can do with Greenly
Greenly offers two questionnaire solutions to complete the VSME:
A basic module that includes Scope 1 and 2 emissions;
A comprehensive module that can also include Scope 3 emissions and information on climate risks, policies and Corporate Social Responsibility actions.
The module to be completed is selected from the ESG tab > Data collection > Framework:
For more information on the VSME framework, please contact our Support team or your account manager.