The VS Replaces the VSME This Thursday
The final text of the updated standard was published today, and it enters into force on 24 September. Here is what changes for companies with up to 1,000 employees, and what a larger customer can require from you from now on.
Today the EU published the final version of the updated VSME standard, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1560, replacing the previous version from 2025. The update eases the reporting expectations for micro companies with 10 employees or fewer, and extends the standard to cover companies with up to 1,000 employees, filling the previous gap between VSME and CSRD.
The standard is still voluntary, but companies with up to 1,000 employees now get clear legal protection. Companies reporting under CSRD can still ask for information beyond the new value chain cap, but they must say which data points fall outside it, and the smaller company has the right to decline. The cap only covers information collected for CSRD reporting, so companies may still have to report information required by other EU or national laws. Banks and investors are also encouraged to keep their requests within the standard.
The new regulation enters into force three days from now, on 24 September, while the value chain cap applies from financial years starting on or after 1 January 2027, which for most companies means the next financial year. From the same date, the 2025 Commission Recommendation that endorsed the VSME stops producing legal effects, so the new standard is the one to work from.
Highlights from the update
Micro companies with 10 employees or fewer now have a lighter ceiling covering basic company information and information about employees, workplace accidents, pay, collective agreements and training. They can no longer be required to provide data on energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, water use or waste.
Companies with more than 10 and up to 1,000 employees share one common ceiling, covering among other things energy use, scope 1 and 2 emissions, water use, circular economy, waste and recycling, number of employees and types of employment, workplace accidents, collective agreements, training, staff turnover and human rights.
The burden now depends more on company size, so a company with ten employees can't be held to the same requirements as one with several hundred.
We went through what the changes mean in practice, particularly for the smallest companies, when the act was adopted in July: The New VS: What Micro-Companies Need to Know.
Has your company already been asked for sustainability data by a larger customer? Format Green helps companies structure their sustainability information in line with the standard, so get in touch if you want to know what this update means for you.
Sources: European Commission, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1560 establishing sustainability reporting standards for voluntary use by undertakings protected by the value chain cap, published in the Official Journal 21 September 2026. // European Commission, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772 as regards the simplification of certain sustainability reporting standards, published in the Official Journal 21 September 2026. // European Parliament and Council, Directive (EU) 2026/470 amending the sustainability reporting framework and introducing the value chain cap, adopted February 2026. // European Commission, Recommendation (EU) 2025/1710 on voluntary sustainability reporting for SMEs, adopted July 2025. // EFRAG Knowledge Hub, Voluntary Standard, 2026 Delegated Act version.
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The New VS: What Micro-Companies Need to Know
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