Three New EFRAG Guides Now Available to Support SMEs in Sustainability Reporting
EFRAG publishes three supporting guides to help SMEs report on disclosures identified as particularly challenging in the public consultation and field test on VSME.
Designed specifically for SMEs (<250 employees), these three VSME supporting guides provide practical, ready-to-use support with clear examples and actionable case studies.
These supporting guides are complementary materials for SMEs reporting sustainability disclosures under the Comprehensive Module of the VSME Standard (the European Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard for Small and Medium Enterprises), and are also available in a interactive format on the ESRS Knowledge Hub.
What the Supporting Guides Cover
Section 1: Sector agnostic list of non-mandatory, non-exhaustive, non-binding, examples of practices, policies, and future initiatives. The examples are of illustrative nature and cover all 10 sustainability issues (climate change, pollution, water etc.) and have been arranged in order of complexity. This list will be integrated as scroll-down menu in the next update of the VSME digital template.
Section 2: 5 mock case studies that aim to show how SMEs could disclose C2-related information.
C3 - GHG reduction targets and climate transition
This guide provides step-by-step support for SMEs preparing disclosures on GHG reduction targets and climate transition plans.
- Section 1: Guidance for SMEs on setting GHG emissions reduction targets.
- Section 2: Guidance for SMEs operating in high-climate-impact sectors that choose to adopt a climate transition plan.
C7 - Severe negative human rights incidents (paragraph 62 (c))
This guide presents three examples of confirmed severe negative human rights incidents in the value chain to support SMEs in preparing their disclosures. The examples cover:
- Workers in the value chain
- Affected communities
- Consumers and end-users
The examples do not cover incidents relating to an SME’s own workforce.
Development Process
These guides are deliverables of the VSME Ecosystem. They have been designed and drafted on the basis of input received from the EFRAG SME Forum and the VSME Community. In developing these supporting guides, EFRAG followed its due process: a draft version approved by the SRT TEG was released for targeted consultation. The feedback received through this consultation was analysed and integrated into the final version, which was approved by the SR TEG and the SRB through written procedure in Autumn 2025.
Join Us for at the SME Forum
Tomorrow, Friday 12 December, these 3 supporting guides will be presented in the public session of the third SME Forum meeting. Don’t miss the public session to get more insights on the guides and the latest developments in EFRAG’s sustainability reporting work for SMEs. Register now
Explore the voluntary standard VSME for SMEs and micro enterprises in an interactive format together with implementation materials on the ESRS Knowledge Hub, your new digital platform to master sustainability reporting!
