Home / Sustainability report (VSME)
Sustainability report (VSME)
A report, fine. But what’s the plan?
A report is not a form to be filled in, but the story of what the business has decided to do. That is why I start from decisions, not documents. Together with management I identify objectives, responsibilities, timelines and indicators to track them, and only then do I monitor, measure and report on them, so that every statement is backed by an action and a figure. To make the work easier, I often set up an internal working group involving the most relevant company functions. The aim is to involve as many employees as possible and to avoid it always falling to the same people.
What you get
I apply the latest European reporting standards, starting with the voluntary VSME standard, in the Basic or Comprehensive Module depending on what customers, banks and investors require, with alignment to the ESRS and GRI where needed. The result is a compliant document, consistent with the strategy and the available data, accompanied by a supporting file and a data collection procedure that the company can repeat in subsequent years.
Services in detail
- Double materiality assessment (CSRD compliant)
- Sustainability action plan, with objectives, responsibilities, timelines and indicators
- Preparation of the sustainability report under the VSME standard (Basic and Comprehensive Module)
- Preparation of the sustainability report under the GRI Standards
- Review and improvement of an existing sustainability report
- Completion of the “SME–Bank Sustainability Dialogue” form (Dialogo di sostenibilità tra PMI e Banche)
- Organisational carbon footprint analysis (Scope 1, 2 and 3)
- Support with ESG certifications (e.g. UNI/PdR 125:2022 or “Gender Equality”)
- Summary report for stakeholders and for communication
Some of my work
FAQ
What is the VSME standard?
It is the voluntary sustainability reporting standard designed for unlisted SMEs, developed by EFRAG, the body tasked by the European Commission with developing the European sustainability reporting standards.
The VSME is aimed at businesses operating in the European Union, in particular unlisted SMEs that fall outside the reporting obligation set by the CSRD.
The standard is structured in two modules: a Basic Module, designed for essential reporting, and a Comprehensive Module, which allows more in-depth information to be provided.
Which VSME module should I choose, Basic or Comprehensive?
It depends on what customers, banks and investors require. The Basic Module covers an essential set of information, while the Comprehensive Module adds broader information on strategy, business model and policies. We assess this together at the start of the work.
Is a business required to prepare a sustainability report?
Not necessarily. Today the CSRD applies to companies that exceed both thresholds of 1,000 employees and €450 million in net turnover, as well as to parent companies of groups that exceed both thresholds on a consolidated basis. Unlisted SMEs may nonetheless receive requests for ESG information from customers, banks and other businesses in their supply chain. However, for businesses with up to 1,000 employees, the new value-chain cap limits requests from companies subject to the CSRD to the information set out in the new voluntary standard (VS), which from 2027 will replace the VSME as the European benchmark.
What is the “SME–Bank Sustainability Dialogue” form?
It is the form drawn up by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance to collect, in a uniform way, the sustainability information that banks request from SMEs. I complete it together with the business.
How long does a sustainability report take?
It depends on the complexity of the business, the availability of data and the level of analysis required. In a simple case, the process may take at least 2 months; for more complex organisations, with ongoing analysis and monitoring of information, it can take up to 12 months.
Today, with artificial intelligence tools, it is technically possible to produce a document in just a few days. But the value of a sustainability report does not lie in simply filling in a report automatically. An automatically generated document may be formally complete, but not necessarily correct, consistent or genuinely useful to the business.
The value lies in the analysis process, in verifying the data and in the ability to turn it into a strategic reading of the business.