What are the deadlines for the CSRD sustainability report?
The VS Standard is voluntary, meaning there is no legally mandated deadline for SMEs. In practice, however, indirect deadlines apply: customers subject to CSRD or financial institutions often require ESG data by specific reference dates, such as the year-end financial statements or prior to loan approvals. The recommended frequency is once a year, aligned with the end of the financial year to streamline ESG reporting.
Are there statutory deadlines for VS reporting?
No – as the VS standard for SMEs is voluntary, there are no legally mandated submission deadlines similar to tax returns. The decision regarding the timing and frequency of the ESG report lies solely with the company.
Which indirect deadlines should SMEs be aware of?
Even without a legal obligation, practical deadlines arise due to external ESG disclosure requirements:
Supply chain requests from customers: Large corporate clients subject to the CSRD must publish their own sustainability report once a year (typically within 4 months after the end of the financial year). To meet this requirement, they typically request ESG data from their suppliers during Q3/Q4 of the preceding year.
Credit negotiations: Banks increasingly request ESG data as part of annual financial statement discussions, typically in the spring of the following year.
EcoVadis ratings: Annual renewals are conducted based on the most recent reporting year.
When should an SME start preparing its VS report?
The ideal time to begin data entry is immediately following the end of the financial year (e.g., January/February). With ESG Lift, generating a complete VS report takes only 1–3 hours, ensuring it is ready well ahead of all relevant external inquiries. Additionally, the KPI dashboard enables multi-year tracking for robust ESG trend analysis.
How often must the VS report be updated?
An annual reporting cycle aligned with the financial year is highly recommended. VS reports refer to a specific reporting year and demonstrate sustainability performance trends over time – the earlier you begin, the more valuable your multi-year ESG data becomes.
ESG reporting deadlines: Why there are no statutory deadlines, which indirect timelines SMEs should nevertheless be aware of, and when is the right time to prepare your sustainability report.