With the Voluntary Standard (VS), the European Commission has developed a voluntary standard for sustainability reporting by companies with up to 1,000 employees that do not fall under the European sustainability reporting requirements themselves. The VS was adopted as a delegated legal act and will also serve as the reference framework for the threshold for sustainability queries by legally reporting companies along the value chain.
The VS is intended to provide companies with a simple and standardised framework for supplying sustainability information while also helping to limit the so-called trickle-down effect along the value chains.
Good to Know
On 3 July 2026, the European Commission adopted the delegated regulation for defining the voluntary reporting standard, making it available in all official EU languages. The conclusion of the formal procedure for the VS is expected in October 2026, at which point its publication in the EU Official Journal should follow. The Voluntary Standard builds upon the recommendation of the European Commission (EU) 2025/1710 dated 30.07.2025 for a "Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Undertakings" (formerly VSME).
Why is it worth using the VS?
The VS helps companies record and provide sustainability information according to a Europe-wide uniform framework. By using the standard, companies can use information for different purposes, such as customer enquiries, discussions with banks or investors, tenders or requirements in supply chains. The goal is to collect information as much as possible once and use it multiple times. At the same time, the standard can facilitate access to sustainable financing and support companies in better assessing and developing their sustainability performance.
The VS as a threshold for data queries
The VS is particularly significant because of its function as a basis for the so-called threshold for data queries on sustainability topics along the value chain (Value Chain Cap).
Legally reporting companies may generally not demand any information from companies with an average of up to 1,000 employees in the previous fiscal year for the purposes of their legal sustainability reporting that goes beyond the information specified in the VS. There are different thresholds for companies with up to ten and for businesses with more than ten employees. At the same time, the requested companies have the right to refuse to provide information that goes beyond this for legal sustainability reporting purposes. The aim is to avoid disproportionate data requirements along the supply and value chains for the purpose of legal sustainability reporting.
Special relief for companies with up to ten employees
For companies with up to ten employees, the VS provides additional relief: Various data points, particularly several more detailed environmental information, are only applicable for companies with more than ten employees.
This includes information on energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, water withdrawal or circular economy. This information also does not belong to the threshold for the value chain for companies with up to ten employees. This accounts for the lower resource expenditure of very small companies.
Application options in voluntary use and structure
Which module is suitable for my company?
The VS is modular and consists of a basic module and an additional module.
For many companies that want to apply the VS for their voluntary sustainability reporting, the basic module will be sufficient. The additional module offers the possibility to voluntarily provide further information if this is requested, for example, by banks, investors or business partners. The additional module can only be used together with the basic module.
Application options
| Variant 1 | Variant 2 |
|---|---|
| Basic module | Basic module |
| Additional module |
Support for applying the VS
Companies do not have to start from scratch. Various free support options are already available for the practical application of the Voluntary Standard:
- Supported by the federal government, the German Sustainability Code (DNK) helps companies get started with sustainability reporting. To this end, it offers an online platform for the VS and additional orientation aids, training and support offers for companies.
- The EU Commission provides practical aids for use, explanations of the standard, reporting forms and information in the "Knowledge Hub" via EFRAG on their website. Many information is currently only available in English but will be supplemented over time by other European languages.
Market acceptance decides
The VS can only contribute to company relief if it establishes itself as a common standard in the market.
From the DIHK's point of view, banks, investors, large companies, funding providers and public-sector clients should use the VS as a reference framework for sustainability information. Otherwise, additional questionnaires and parallel data collections threaten.
The opportunity of the VS lies in unifying sustainability information across Europe. For companies, this means: recording information as much as possible once, using it multiple times and limiting the effort for recurring data queries.
Further information
- Relevant in topic:
- Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility
- Key areas:
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- Sustainable Finance
It has been translated with the assistance of AI.
No guarantee is made as to the accuracy or completeness of the translation.
Ansprechpartnerinnen
Cornelia Upmeier
Director CSR | Special Projects
Annika Böhm
Director Corporate and Accounting Law