Policy and reporting5 min read
From VSME to the Voluntary Standard: what changes for smaller businesses
The EU has published the Voluntary Standard based on VSME as Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1560. What it is, what the value chain cap protects, and what businesses already using VSME can do now.
Sustainability reporting for smaller companies has a new legal anchor. On 9 October 2026, EFRAG and the European Commission held a hybrid event on what has changed from the VSME Recommendation to the new Voluntary Standard, and what it means in practice for SMEs. Here is a short, plain summary.
The short version
- The Voluntary Standard is a voluntary framework, not a new reporting obligation.
- It keeps the modular structure of VSME: a Basic Module, with a Comprehensive Module for additional detail.
- It also works as a value chain cap, designed to limit the information that companies reporting under the CSRD can request from smaller partners.
The bigger picture
Many businesses outside mandatory sustainability reporting still receive requests for environmental, social and governance information from customers, banks and other partners. Different questionnaires can mean duplicated effort, even when the underlying information is the same. The Voluntary Standard offers a common reference point.
The legal text is Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1560, adopted on 3 July 2026 and published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 21 September 2026. It builds on the standard adopted under the Commission's 2025 VSME Recommendation and is aimed at undertakings that are not subject to mandatory CSRD reporting.
A boundary for information requests
The regulation is also described as a value chain cap. Companies reporting under the CSRD may not require information beyond the limits set in the standard from business partners that do not exceed an average of 1,000 employees in the previous financial year. For a supplier, that is a practical protection: the standard defines what a large customer can reasonably ask for.
One distinction matters. The cap concerns information gathered for CSRD reporting purposes. It is not a blanket limit on every request from a bank, an insurer or a customer with other needs.
What should businesses do now?
For businesses already using VSME, this is an evolution rather than a reason to start from scratch. A measured approach keeps the transition manageable.
- Start with what you already have. Review existing reporting, customer questionnaires and records for energy, workforce and other relevant topics.
- Choose a proportionate level of detail. Use the Basic Module as a starting point, and add the Comprehensive Module only where a lender, investor or business customer genuinely needs it.
- Check the purpose of incoming requests. Separate CSRD-related requests from those serving other purposes, and compare them with what the standard lists.
- Follow the updated guidance. EFRAG has published practical guidance and expects to update its digital template for the new standard in the fourth quarter of 2026.
The opportunity is not simply to produce another report. It is to build a consistent, reusable picture of your sustainability performance, and spend less time answering the same questions in different formats.
How Jaznexus fits in
Jaznexus builds its reporting workflow around this structure: companies are guided through the topics one at a time, and suppliers answer structured assessments with supporting documents in the same workspace. If you would like to see how it works for your company, the platform is open for a first report, and you can also write to us directly.
This article is a general summary and not legal advice. Please refer to the applicable legal text before making compliance decisions.