What is the difference between VS and ESRS?
ESRS (European Sustainability Reporting Standards) are the mandatory ESG reporting standards for large companies subject to CSRD regulations, featuring over 1,100 data points. The VS represents the voluntary, simplified framework tailored for SMEs, consisting of 147 data points – fully compatible with ESRS data requirements, but without the administrative burden.
What are the ESRS?
The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) are the detailed technical frameworks that companies subject to the CSRD must use for their ESG disclosure. Developed by the EFRAG, they encompass over 1,100 data points across Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria. Compiling an ESRS-compliant sustainability report typically requires dedicated ESG teams and independent auditors.
VS as a Simplified ESRS Variant for SMEs
The Voluntary Standard (VS) utilizes the same structure and logic as the ESRS, but radically reduces the scope to 147 material data points. Consequently, a VS report is sufficiently compatible with ESRS requirements to satisfy the Scope 3 data needs of large corporate enterprises subject to CSRD—without requiring SMEs to generate a full-scale ESRS sustainability report.
Practical Implications for SMEs
As an SME supplier to a CSRD-obligated corporate, a VS report is entirely sufficient to respond to supplier ESG inquiries. ESG Lift generates this EFRAG-compliant VS report in just 1–3 hours, starting from €890/year.
VS vs. ESRS: What the difference is, why SMEs use VS instead of ESRS, and how both standards are interconnected.