VSME Basic Module checklist

A working checklist for the eleven disclosures in the Basic Module of EFRAG's Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard for SMEs (VSME), with where the data usually comes from.

Best for: SMEs answering a customer's or bank's sustainability questionnaire, or preparing a first voluntary report.

Basic Module disclosures

Work through each disclosure, note the source and mark the status. Disclosures that do not apply to your business can be omitted with a short explanation.

Disclosure	What it covers	Usual data source
B1	Basis for preparation: reporting period, entity, legal form, whether the report is individual or consolidated	Company registry extract, annual accounts
B2	Practices, policies and future initiatives for the transition to a more sustainable economy	Policies, management decisions, plans
B3	Energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2)	Energy and fuel invoices, emission calculation
B4	Pollution of air, water and soil, where you already report it to authorities	Environmental permits and authority reports
B5	Biodiversity: sites in or near biodiversity-sensitive areas	Site list, land registry, maps
B6	Water withdrawal and consumption	Water bills, meter readings
B7	Resource use, circular economy and waste management	Waste contractor reports, purchase records
B8	Workforce: general characteristics such as headcount by contract type and gender	HR system, payroll
B9	Workforce: health and safety, such as work-related accidents and fatalities	Incident log, insurance reports
B10	Workforce: remuneration, collective bargaining coverage and training	Payroll, collective agreements, training records
B11	Convictions and fines for corruption and bribery	Legal register, compliance officer

Before you send it

Every figure has a source document you can show on request.
The reporting period matches your financial year.
Omitted disclosures have a one-line reason.
Someone other than the preparer has read it once.

Automate this in Certigence

Based on the Basic Module structure of EFRAG's VSME standard. Check the latest EFRAG publication and your customer's or bank's own questionnaire for exact data points.

In Certigence the same answers live on your company profile with their evidence, so the next questionnaire starts from what you already have.