EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Pillar guide
Preparing, controlling and releasing the report
Eligibility, module choice, disclosure ownership and how the finished report is approved and issued.
22 articles Read the guide →
London Reporting Academy·EU Voluntary Standard 2026 Disclosure Guides
Resolve the EU Voluntary Standard 2026 questions behind every disclosure.
Search a practical EU Voluntary Standard 2026 question, browse by reporting task or go straight to a disclosure. Each guide begins with the answer, identifies the relevant EU Voluntary Standard 2026 source, explains where judgement remains and links to the disclosure cards affected by the decision.
What are you trying to resolve under EU Voluntary Standard 2026?
Ask in your own words — the assistant looks for the meaning, not only the same phrase.
If relevant Hub material exists, the answer links to it. If nothing relevant is published, the assistant says so before giving a clearly labelled general answer.
- Written against EU Voluntary Standard 2026 2026
- Source-linked
- Practitioner-reviewed
- Free to read
Published EU Voluntary Standard 2026 guides
What is live today.
Every guide names what it helps you decide and which disclosures the decision moves, so you can tell whether it is yours without opening it.
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Pillar guide
Value chain cap: scope and protected undertaking status
Whether the cap covers your entity, the requester's purpose and the datapoints being asked for.
4 articles Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Pillar guide
Requests that go beyond the cap: declining, narrowing, redesigning
The legal basis for declining, the commercially workable alternatives, and the requester's side of it.
8 articles Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Pillar guide
Approved answers for questionnaires, tenders and lender packs
One controlled answer set, reused across customer questionnaires, tender portals and bank requests.
3 articles Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Pillar guide
Business model, policies and workforce disclosures
Business model, policies and workforce: matching every word in the disclosure to the evidence behind it.
7 articles Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Pillar guide
Scope 3, climate targets and climate risk
The two climate disclosures in the Comprehensive Module: when to quantify, and how much modelling is enough.
3 articles Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Pillar guide
Reusing the same data for ESRS, GRI and IFRS reporting
What genuinely transfers to other frameworks and to lenders, and what only looks equivalent.
4 articles Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Toolkit·Reporting boundaries
EU Voluntary Standard C6–C9 and Framework Comparison Controls
A package-level toolkit containing LRA_EU_VS_C6-C9_and_Framework_Comparison_Controls.xlsx, with 5 related Knowledge Hub guides.
Helps you decideWhich package files and related guides belong to this toolkit?
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 3 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Explainer·Data and evidence
EU Voluntary Sustainability Report Template: Structure, Disclosure Index and Evidence Pack
A strong EU Voluntary Sustainability Report should be built as three connected outputs: an approved report or counterparty-facing document, a controlled disclosure index and response pack, and a restricted evidence room. The report should identify the undertaking, reporting period, perimeter, Option A or Option B basis, paragraph 22 omissions and applicable B/C disclosures; explain methodologies, boundaries, estimates, changes and limitations; and use a disclosure index that points to precise locations.
Helps you decideEU Voluntary Sustainability Report Template: Structure, Disclosure Index and Evidence Pack
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 9 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Data and evidence
Free EU Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Template: Basic and Comprehensive Modules
A useful EU Voluntary Sustainability Reporting template should not be a single blank report. It should be a small controlled package: a Word report skeleton for the Basic and Comprehensive Modules, an Excel applicability matrix, an evidence register, a data dictionary and a request-response log.
Helps you decideFree EU Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Template: Basic and Comprehensive Modules
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 5 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Metrics and methodologies
C5 Workforce Characteristics: Turnover, Management and Governance Populations Explained
Do not use one broad “workforce” denominator. Turnover concerns employees and an average annual employee population.
Helps you decidewhich population belongs in each workforce denominator, and whether a small-population turnover figure is safe to publish
Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 15 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Data and evidence
C4 Climate Risks: Physical and Transition Risk Without an Overbuilt Scenario Model
A useful first C4 disclosure is specific, traceable and proportionate - not necessarily model-heavy. Identify the hazard or transition event, the exposed site, activity or value-chain node, the reason it is sensitive, the relevant time horizon, the potential operational or financial channel, and the action or control.
Helps you decidehow far to take scenario work in a first climate risk disclosure, and what a risk statement must name to stay traceable
Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 14 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Metrics and methodologies
C3 Climate Targets and Scope 3: When Quantification Is Appropriate
Begin with a category screening, not with a request for a single Scope 3 total. Quantify the categories that are significant and for which a reasonable estimate can be supported; explain the methods and limitations.
Helps you decidewhich Scope 3 categories are ready to quantify and publish, and whether your climate ambition qualifies as an established target
Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 15 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Data and evidence
C2 Policies and Practices: How to Avoid Overstating Sustainability Maturity
The safest C2 rule is simple: the noun in the report must match the evidence behind it. A repeated activity is not automatically an approved policy.
Helps you decideWhich evidence category supports each claim, and what status language is accurate at the reporting date?
Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 12 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Reporting boundaries
C1 Business Model and Value Chain: How to Write a Useful Comprehensive Disclosure
C1 should let a reader understand what the undertaking offers, where it operates, which relationship categories enable the business model and how sustainability-related strategy connects to those facts. It is not a request for a complete supplier or customer list.
Helps you decideWhich aspects of the business model are significant enough to describe, and at what level of aggregation?
Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 12 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Comparison·Reporting boundaries
EU Voluntary Standard 2026 vs VSME
The 2026 EU Voluntary Standard is not a wholly new architecture: it is based on the VSME standard endorsed by Commission Recommendation (EU) 2025/1710 and retains the Basic B1-B11 and Comprehensive C1-C9 modules. The main changes are its proposed legal form and role, the wider intended population up to 1,000 employees, a statutory value-chain cap defined through a separate Annex II, specific reliefs for undertakings with 10 employees or fewer, alignment with the revised ESRS and targeted datapoint changes.
Helps you decideWhich source is current, what changed in architecture and datapoints, and how to transition without losing evidence or overstating legal status.
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 11 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Reporting boundaries
EUVS KH 29 Workforce Disclosures
B8-B10 use employees - individuals in an employment relationship with the undertaking - as the core population. B8 reports employees in headcount or FTE by temporary/permanent contract, gender and country of employment contract when the undertaking operates in more than one country.
Helps you decideWho counts as an employee, which denominator applies, how country rules are handled and whether publication needs privacy controls.
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 11 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Comparison·Data and evidence
Basic vs Comprehensive Module
Choose the Basic Module when the organisation needs a reliable core report, is building its first repeatable data cycle or mainly answers proportionate customer and management questions. Choose Basic plus Comprehensive when banks, investors or corporate clients need additional information on strategy, policies, Scope 3, GHG targets, transition, climate risks, workforce depth, human rights, sensitive activities or governance diversity - and the organisation can complete and evidence the full Comprehensive Module.
Helps you decideWhich module best fits company size, information users, data maturity, climate needs and upgrade plans.
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 12 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Data and evidence
Report or Dataset First? How SMEs Should Implement Voluntary Sustainability Reporting
For most SMEs, the controlled dataset should come first and the designed report should be treated as one output. The 2026 Voluntary Standard is intended to serve counterparties, banks and investors as well as internal management, and it allows the report to be public or counterparty-focused.
Helps you decideDecide why a controlled dataset normally comes before graphic report design.
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 15 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Comparison·Omissions and claims
Not Applicable vs Unavailable vs Omitted: How to Classify Voluntary Standard Datapoints
Classify each paragraph or subpoint by starting with the selected reporting option and the wording of the disclosure - not with whether the data happens to be available. Not applicable means an express circumstance in the Standard is absent.
Helps you decideUse four distinct classifications instead of treating every blank as not applicable.
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 14 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Reporting boundaries
Convictions and Fines Under B11: What Must an Undertaking Report?
B11 is triggered by confirmed legal outcomes in the reporting period: the undertaking reports the number of convictions and the total amount of fines incurred for violations of anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws. Allegations, whistleblowing reports, internal findings and open investigations are not themselves B11 convictions or fines.
Helps you decideWhether an event is a qualifying conviction or fine, in which period and boundary, and how it is aggregated and worded.
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 11 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Reporting boundaries
B1 and B2 Explained: Company Profile, Practices, Policies and Future Initiatives
B1 establishes who is reporting, on what basis and for which organisational perimeter; B2 then states whether the undertaking has specific sustainability practices, policies, future initiatives being implemented and targets. The two disclosures should not be merged into a promotional profile.
Helps you decideWhat belongs in the company profile, and which maturity label is supported for each sustainability item.
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 12 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Data and evidence
Evidence Register for the EU Voluntary Standard: What to Keep Behind Every Datapoint
Every reported datapoint should have a controlled evidence record showing what was reported, which paragraph or subpoint it relates to, where the source came from, who owns it, which period and boundary it covers, how it was calculated or judged, who reviewed it, whether the evidence is confidential and whether the datapoint is approved for release. The 2026 Voluntary Standard does not prescribe a named “evidence register”, but it requires information to be faithful and verifiable.
Helps you decideDefine the minimum evidence record behind each metric and narrative statement.
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 15 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Reporting boundaries
EUVS KH 28 Environmental B Disclosures
B4-B7 do not share one universal applicability test. B4 covers own-operation pollutant emissions that the undertaking must report to authorities under EU or national law, or voluntarily reports under an environmental management system.
Helps you decideWhich disclosure applies, at which locations, using which source records and units.
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 10 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Metrics and methodologies
Energy and GHG Disclosures Under the EU Voluntary Standard: Scope 1, Scope 2 and Evidence
B3 requires total energy consumption in MWh and, where the necessary information can be obtained, a renewable/non-renewable split for electricity and fuels. It also requires estimated absolute gross Scope 1 emissions and location-based Scope 2 emissions in tCO2e, considering the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard.
Helps you decideHow to construct the energy register, select factors, treat supplier attributes and document estimates.
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 11 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Data and evidence
Missing Data and Estimates Under the EU Voluntary Standard: What Is Allowed?
The 2026 EU Voluntary Standard allows or anticipates estimates in some areas - most clearly for Scope 1 and location-based Scope 2 greenhouse-gas emissions - but it does not provide a general “data unavailable” exemption for every essential and applicable datapoint. A missing value must first be tested against the selected module, an explicit voluntary category, an “if applicable” condition and the limited omission permission in paragraph 22.
Helps you decideUnderstand why estimation is sometimes acceptable but unavailability is not a general omission reason.
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 15 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Reporting boundaries
EU Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard 2026 Explained
The 2026 EU Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard is a Commission-adopted framework designed to help undertakings outside mandatory sustainability reporting provide proportionate, standardised information to business counterparties, banks and investors and improve their own management. It retains a Basic Module (B1-B11) and a Comprehensive Module (C1-C9), with the Basic Module required before the Comprehensive Module.
Helps you decideWhether to use the Standard, which module to select, what boundary and reporting channel to adopt, and how to respond to value-chain information requests.
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 12 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Assurance and controls
Does an EU Voluntary Sustainability Report Need External Assurance?
No. The 2026 EU Voluntary Standard does not impose a general obligation on an undertaking to obtain external assurance; the delegated act expressly states that undertakings applying the Standard are not obliged to seek assurance for the information they report. The information must nevertheless be relevant, faithful, comparable, understandable and verifiable, so a proportionate internal review and controlled evidence trail remain important.
Helps you decideUnderstand why external assurance is not a general requirement of the Standard.
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 14 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·New standards and transition
Is the EU Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard Mandatory?
No. The EU Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard is voluntary for the undertaking preparing information; it does not itself create a general duty to prepare or publish a sustainability report. A separate law may make a company a mandatory reporter, and a customer, bank or tender may create a commercial expectation or contractual request.
Helps you decideWhether the undertaking has a legal duty to report, a commercial reason to respond, a statutory right to decline above-cap information or a voluntary choice to use the Standard.
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 11 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Reporting boundaries
Who Can Use the EU Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard?
The clearest eligible user is an undertaking that is not subject to mandatory sustainability reporting under Articles 19a or 29a and that does not exceed an average of 1,000 employees in the preceding financial year. Annex I expressly includes self-employed persons, non-incorporated undertakings and listed micro-undertakings.
Helps you decideWhether the Standard is an appropriate reporting basis, at which entity or group level, and whether value-chain protections apply.
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 11 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Explainer·Reporting boundaries
C6 and C7 Human Rights Disclosures: Complaints, Confirmed Incidents and Remediation
C6 and C7 serve different purposes. C6 asks whether the undertaking has an own-workforce code or human-rights policy, which specified issues it covers, and whether an own-workforce complaints-handling mechanism exists.
Helps you decideWhat is a mechanism, what is an intake item, and what qualifies as a confirmed incident for reporting.
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 11 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Materiality and scope
How Large Companies Should Redesign Supplier ESG Questionnaires Around the Value Chain Cap
Do not start with a legacy ESG questionnaire and delete a few fields. Rebuild the request from purpose, exact datapoint mapping and necessity.
Helps you decidewhich supplier fields survive a necessity test, which suppliers should be asked at all, and which legacy questions to drop rather than rephrase
Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 15 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Data and evidence
How to Answer Customer and Bank ESG Questionnaires Using the EU Voluntary Standard
Use the voluntary standard as a controlled data and evidence model. Start by triaging the requester, entity, purpose, period and intended use.
Helps you decidewhich approved answers may be reused exactly as they stand, and which have to be re-derived for this requester, period and purpose
Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 15 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Omissions and claims
Must an EU Voluntary Sustainability Report Be Public?
No. The voluntary standard says that the report’s primary function is to inform actual or potential business counterparties and that the undertaking may decide to make it public. If it does so, it may use a separate section of its management report, where one exists, or a separate document.
Helps you decidewhether to publish the report at all, which delivery channel each reader gets, and what may stay confidential without going silent about it
Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 14 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Omissions and claims
Can You Add Selected Comprehensive Disclosures to a Basic Module Report?
Yes. Paragraph 25 of the Commission-adopted 2026 Voluntary Standard permits an undertaking, after completing B1-B11, to report selected disclosures from the Comprehensive Module. The safest reporting basis is to retain the Option A statement for the completed Basic Module, label the selected C disclosures as supplementary, explain the basis in B1 and show them separately in the disclosure index.
Helps you decideCan You Add Selected Comprehensive Disclosures to a Basic Module Report?
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 8 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Comparison·Omissions and claims
Option A vs Option B Under the EU Voluntary Standard: Requirements and Reporting Claims
Option A means applying the Basic Module only; Option B means applying both the Basic and Comprehensive Modules. B1 requires the undertaking to identify the selected option and make an explicit statement of compliance using that option.
Helps you decideOption A vs Option B Under the EU Voluntary Standard: Requirements and Reporting Claims
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 8 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Comparison·Framework interoperability
EU Voluntary Standard vs GRI: Which Framework Fits an SME?
The best fit depends on the reporting objective. The EU Voluntary Standard is designed as a proportionate, modular information set for undertakings outside mandatory CSRD reporting, with a Basic Module and a Comprehensive Module that can support lender, customer, investor and value-chain requests.
Helps you decideWhether the immediate need is a proportionate counterparty dataset, a public impact report, future ESRS readiness, or a controlled combination.
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 13 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Comparison·Framework interoperability
EU Voluntary Standard vs ESRS: Key Differences for Companies Outside CSRD Scope
The EU Voluntary Standard and ESRS are not two sizes of the same compliance checklist. The Voluntary Standard is a proportionate, modular framework for undertakings outside mandatory sustainability reporting, designed to support lender, investor and value-chain information needs and internal management.
Helps you decideWhich framework supports the current reporting objective and what additional work is needed for ESRS migration.
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 10 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Data and evidence
EU Voluntary Standard Implementation Checklist: 60 Questions for the First Reporting Cycle
A first-cycle EU Voluntary Standard checklist should test six gates: eligibility and protected status, module option and reporting basis, datapoint applicability, data quality and evidence, report and counterparty outputs, and review and release control. The checklist should not be used as a substitute for the standard or as a questionnaire to copy into a report.
Helps you decideEU Voluntary Standard Implementation Checklist: 60 Questions for the First Reporting Cycle
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 5 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Mistakes and myths·Omissions and claims
Common EU Voluntary Standard Mistakes: Value Chain Cap, Modules, Missing Data and Claims
The most common EU Voluntary Standard mistakes come from treating the standard either as a casual questionnaire or as a miniature ESRS report. The practical fixes are to map every request to the selected module and Annex II, classify each datapoint status, keep gross metrics separate from offsets, describe only real policies and practices, maintain evidence for every claim, and control whether information is public, counterparty-specific or restricted.
Helps you decideCommon EU Voluntary Standard Mistakes: Value Chain Cap, Modules, Missing Data and Claims
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 6 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Data and evidence
First EU Voluntary Reporting Cycle: A 90-Day and 12-Month Roadmap
A first EU Voluntary Standard cycle should be planned in two tracks. The 90-day track creates a usable, controlled first output: scope, module option, dataset, evidence register, gap log, review and release decision.
Helps you decideFirst EU Voluntary Reporting Cycle: A 90-Day and 12-Month Roadmap
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 6 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Data and evidence
Do SMEs Need Sustainability Reporting Software, or Is Excel Enough?
Excel can be enough for a first EU Voluntary Standard reporting cycle if the undertaking has a small team, a limited number of requesters, a disciplined evidence repository and clear version control. The standard does not prescribe specialist software.
Helps you decideWhether to operate with spreadsheets and a document repository, or adopt a specialised platform.
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 6 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Explainer·Reporting boundaries
C9 Gender Diversity Ratio: Calculation, Population and Reporting Controls
C9 applies if the undertaking has a governance body in place. The current Commission-adopted text requires the related gender diversity ratio but does not set out a detailed calculation method.
Helps you decideWhich body and active members form the ratio population, and which calculation convention is used.
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 10 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Explainer·Reporting boundaries
C8 Sector Exposure and Related Revenue: How to Determine the Correct Boundary
C8 begins with the undertaking’s own activities. If the undertaking is active in prohibited weapons, tobacco cultivation or production, fossil fuels, or chemicals production falling within Division 20.2, it discloses the related revenues derived from those activities; fossil-fuel revenue is disaggregated between coal, oil and gas.
Helps you decideWhether the undertaking itself is active in a listed sector and which revenue is derived from that activity.
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 10 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Data and evidence
Protected Undertaking Self-Declaration: What Suppliers and Requesters Should Document
Use a short, controlled declaration that proves the two statutory criteria - employee threshold and value-chain relationship - and also identifies the employee band needed for Annex II. State the legal entity, period, average employee number, calculation/entity basis, recipient relationship, authorised signatory, issue date, expiry and correction route.
Helps you decidewhat the protected-undertaking declaration must state, which records stand behind each field, and when it has to be reissued or corrected
Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 13 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Explainer·Data and evidence
EU Voluntary Standard Comprehensive Module: Complete Guide to C1-C9 Disclosures
The Comprehensive Module adds C1-C9 to a completed Basic Module. It is designed to address information needs commonly raised by banks, investors and corporate clients.
Helps you decideEU Voluntary Standard Comprehensive Module: Complete Guide to C1-C9 Disclosures
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 9 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Omissions and claims
How to Respond to an Above-Cap Sustainability Data Request Without Damaging the Customer Relationship
Treat the request as a fact-specific legal and commercial decision, not an automatic refusal. Confirm protected status, purpose and exact Annex II excess.
Helps you decidewhich of the five documented paths to take on an above-cap request — clarify, decline, supply voluntarily, narrow the scope or phase it — and who signs that off
Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 13 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Explainer·Data and evidence
EU Voluntary Standard Basic Module: Complete Guide to B1-B11 Disclosures
The Basic Module is the minimum reporting route under the Commission-adopted 2026 Voluntary Standard. An undertaking applying Option A completes B1-B11 in their entirety, subject to the “if applicable” principle, datapoints explicitly identified as voluntary, targeted reliefs for undertakings with 10 employees or fewer and any properly documented paragraph 22 omissions.
Helps you decideEU Voluntary Standard Basic Module: Complete Guide to B1-B11 Disclosures
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026 11 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Comparison·Framework interoperability
EU Voluntary Standard vs IFRS S1 and IFRS S2: SME Reporting and Investor Information Compared
The EU Voluntary Standard and IFRS S1/S2 can use some of the same underlying data, but they are not interchangeable reporting bases. The EU Voluntary Standard is a proportionate, modular framework intended mainly to answer the needs of business counterparties, banks and investors and to help an undertaking manage sustainability issues.
Helps you decidewhether a lender- or investor-facing SME should report under the voluntary standard, under IFRS S1 and S2, or under both
Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 10 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Reporting boundaries
How to Prepare a Report Under the EU Voluntary Standard: Step-by-Step Guide
Prepare the report as a controlled reporting project, not as a questionnaire-filling exercise. First identify the users, requests and intended publication channel; confirm that the Voluntary Standard is an appropriate basis; select Option A (Basic Module only) or Option B (Basic and Comprehensive Modules); and build a disclosure-level applicability matrix.
Helps you decideWhich users and requests the report will serve, whether Option A or Option B is appropriate, and what controlled evidence is required before release.
Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 13 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Reporting boundaries
Does the EU Value Chain Cap Apply to Banks, Customers and Procurement Platforms?
The value chain cap follows purpose and legal role, not the label of the requester or the datapoint alone. A bank or customer can be subject to the cap when it is a CSRD reporting undertaking and seeks information from a protected undertaking for its sustainability reporting.
Helps you decideWhich requester/purpose combinations fall within the statutory cap and which require separate legal or commercial analysis.
Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 10 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Omissions and claims
Can a Supplier Refuse an ESG Data Request Under the EU Value Chain Cap?
A protected supplier has a statutory right to decline information that exceeds the relevant Annex II cap when the request is made for a CSRD reporting purpose. That right does not automatically apply to requests for lending, due diligence, product compliance or other purposes.
Helps you decideWhether the supplier has a statutory right to decline, another obligation to respond, or a commercial choice to negotiate.
Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 9 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Reporting boundaries
Protected Undertaking Test: Does the EU Value Chain Cap Apply to Your Company?
A company is a protected undertaking only if the specific responding undertaking is in the value chain of a CSRD reporting undertaking and does not exceed an average of 1,000 employees during the preceding financial year on its balance sheet date. The status should be documented for the correct legal entity through a dated self-declaration supported by the employee calculation, accounts or payroll evidence, value-chain relationship and reporting period.
Helps you decideWhether the respondent meets both the employee and value-chain criteria, and which Annex II employee band applies.
Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 10 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Reporting boundaries
EU Value Chain Cap Explained: What Large Companies May Ask Smaller Suppliers to Report
The value chain cap is a purpose-specific upper limit, not a general ban on ESG questions and not a duty for suppliers to report. A request is potentially within the cap only where a CSRD reporting undertaking seeks information for its sustainability reporting, the respondent is a protected undertaking in its value chain, the datapoint is listed in Annex II for the respondent's employee band, and the information is necessary.
Helps you decideWhether each request line is within the Annex II ceiling, above it, or outside the cap because the purpose or parties differ.
Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 11 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Data and evidence
Using the EU Voluntary Standard in Tenders, Supplier Onboarding and Customer Due Diligence
The safest way to use the EU Voluntary Standard in a tender or onboarding process is to treat it as a controlled response pack, not as a document that is uploaded unchanged to every portal. Start with an approved Option A or Option B core, then add request-specific evidence, certifications and any voluntary above-cap information through a release-controlled annex.
Helps you decidewhat belongs in a tender or onboarding pack beyond the report itself, which certifications you may cite, and which version goes to whom
Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 8 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Framework interoperability
Can One Sustainability Dataset Support the EU Voluntary Standard, ESRS, GRI and Bank Requests?
Yes — one controlled sustainability dataset can support the EU Voluntary Standard, ESRS, GRI and bank requests, but only when the dataset stores more than a number. Each record should preserve the period, boundary, definition, methodology, evidence, owner, review status and intended purpose.
Helps you decidewhich calculations can be reused across the voluntary standard, ESRS, GRI and bank requests, and which judgements have to stay separate for each
Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 8 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Assurance and controls
Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Without an ESG Team: A Practical Model for SMEs
An SME does not need a dedicated ESG department to produce a credible EU Voluntary Standard report. It needs a clear accountable owner, functional data owners, a controlled evidence and calculation process, independent review of higher-risk claims and a disciplined release cycle.
Helps you decidewho owns each disclosure when there is no ESG team, and which controls are the minimum set before a figure may be released
Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 8 min Read the guide →
EU Voluntary Standard 2026·Decision guide·Materiality and scope
EU Voluntary Standard for Bank and Lender Requests: What Information Is Most Decision-Useful?
The most decision-useful information for a bank is not the longest list of ESG datapoints. It is information that helps the lender understand the borrower’s cash-flow resilience, operating-cost exposure, asset and collateral vulnerability, legal or incident risk, management capability and financing needs.
Helps you decidewhat to put in a lender pack, and what to leave out of it because it does not move a credit decision
Reviewed 10 Aug 2026 8 min Read the guide →
Know the disclosure already?
Use a guide to settle the question. Use a card to prepare the disclosure.
Every guide names the disclosures its decision moves, and each one resolves to its card: the fields to prepare, the owners to name, the evidence to retain, the wording to draft, and the published EU Voluntary Standard 2026 reports that already answered it.
Four depths of guidance
How far a guide goes depends on the question.
- Level 1Pillar guides
The whole subject, from first principles to sign-off.
- Level 2Articles
One practical question a reporting team has to settle.
- Level 3FAQ cards
A concise answer to something that closes in a paragraph.
- Level 4Expert notes
A defensible review method, for reviewers and assurance teams.
LRA Reporting Assistant
Ask the EU Voluntary Standard 2026 AI Assistant
Ask in your own words — the assistant looks for the meaning, not only the same phrase.
If relevant Hub material exists, the answer links to it. If nothing relevant is published, the assistant says so before giving a clearly labelled general answer.
How every guide is built
Answer, source, judgement, affected disclosures.
You should be able to stop reading after the first paragraph and still have what you came for. Everything below it exists so you can defend the answer to a reviewer.
- 01Answer
The question is stated as a reporting team would ask it, and settled in the opening lines.
- 02Source
The EU Voluntary Standard 2026 requirement and edition are named, and kept clearly apart from our reading of them.
- 03Judgement
The points the standard leaves open are marked, with what a defensible position looks like.
- 04Affected disclosures
The guide links to the disclosures and evidence it moves, so a decision turns into fields to fill.
RK
Technical leadership
Dr Ross Kurinko
Strategic ESG Advisor · IFRS S1 & S2 / GRI / ESRS
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