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In November 2024, CEN/CENELEC and EFRAG agreed to map CEN and CENELEC standards with the ESRS/VSME as part of the Memorandum of Understanding.
The mapping will be coordinated by secondees in kind from DIN and EFRAG, with involvement of sustainability reporting professionals.
The VSME is a deliverable of the European Commission's SME Relief Package (September 2023) tasking EFRAG to develop a simple and standardised framework for SMEs to report on ESG issues, creating better opportunities to obtain green financing and thus facilitating the transition to a sustainable economy. In particular, in Action 14 of the SMEs Relief Package it is mentioned that the 'Commission will ensure that SMEs have a simple and standardized framework to report on ESG issues … ensuring the rapid delivery of voluntary standards for non-listed SMEs.'
Based on the objectives of VSME and ISO standards.
(BC4.) The purpose of the VSME is to support SMEs 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 lenders/credit providers and investors, to improve SMEs’ access to finance;
(c) improving the management of their sustainability issues. This will support their competitive growth and enhance their resilience in the short-, medium-, and long-term, and the VSME can be used as an internal management tool; and
(d) contributing to a more sustainable and inclusive economy.
Standardization is a regulated activity, based on Regulation (EU) 1025/2012 at the European level. The open, transparent, and consensus-based process among stakeholders at the basis of standards development ensures quality technical content that is widely accepted among companies and organizations and generates confidence among users.