Implement VSME with Ease – and Expand It Intelligently
leadity is your comprehensive ESG solution for small and medium-sized enterprises: Launch VSME reporting quickly, expand it flexibly, and manage sustainability strategically.
VSME Reporting Made Easy – with leadity
Your Central Solution for Smart ESG Reporting in Line with VSME
With leadity, you implement the VSME standard efficiently and strategically. The software guides you step by step through all relevant content, ensuring nothing is overlooked and you stay up to date – audit-proof, future-ready, and easy to understand.
- Quick Start:
leadity is web-based, ready to use immediately, and offers tailored onboarding – including practical templates, step-by-step guides, and optional workshops with our experts. - Integrated VSME Templates:
All 140 VSME data points are pre-structured within the software – supported by helpful explanations, examples, and smart input assistance. Your ESG data is compiled into a complete report with AI support. - Less Effort, Greater Impact:
Capture your ESG data centrally and efficiently for VSME reporting. Connect existing data sources – for example, for carbon accounting – via interfaces, and let your emissions be calculated automatically.
Sustainability with a Vision
Start Lean Today – Grow Strategically Tomorrow
The VSME offers a streamlined entry into ESG reporting – especially for small and medium-sized enterprises without a legal reporting obligation. But those who think ahead use this opportunity to strategically advance their sustainability efforts.
This is exactly where leadity comes in: Thanks to its modular structure, you can easily expand the VSME to include key topics such as supply chains, climate risks, or industry-specific requirements – practical, straightforward, and future-proof. This way, an initial ESG framework becomes a true competitive advantage.
All Key Standards in One System
Looking for a Real Strategy?
VSME Plus: The Smart Advancement Approach – Exclusively with leadity
The VSME standard is a strong starting point – but in practice, many companies find they need more.
Stakeholders demand reliable information on supply chains and climate risks, measurable progress, and industry-specific topics such as animal welfare. This is where the VSME reaches its limits – and where VSME Plus begins. VSME Plus allows you to strategically expand the standard with relevant content, creating an ESG foundation that not only documents but also convinces and helps you identify risks early. The best part: VSME Plus is fully included in your leadity access for VSME – at no additional cost.
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VSME Reporting – Only Better
What VSME Offers – and How VSME Plus Enhances It
VSME: 140 structured ESG data points- VSME plus: Expanded with relevant topics tailored to your industry and stakeholders
- VSME: Basic implementation without double materiality analysis
- VSME plus: Simplified materiality assessment for well-founded decisions
- VSME: No mandatory supply chain disclosures
- VSME plus: Integration of supply chain-related ESG aspects, e.g., for critical raw materials
- VSME: Focus on semi-narrative reporting
- VSME plus: Qualitative insights combined with clearly measurable KPIs
- VSME: No external assurance required
- VSME plus: Optional critical review by professionals – for added credibility and impact
VSME: 140 structured ESG data points
VSME plus: Expanded with relevant topics tailored to your industry and stakeholdersOne System – Endless Possibilities
Would You Like to Experience leadity in Action?
In a personalized demo session, we’ll configure leadity to fit your company’s needs – including all VSME features. Afterwards, you can explore the software independently and free of charge. See for yourself how easy ESG management can be – and why VSME Plus in leadity is the smarter strategic choice.
ESG Software for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
Advanced Features for VSME (Plus) and Beyond
leadity includes all core features for structured VSME reporting – including our strategic VSME Plus approach. With additional modules such as risk analysis under the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act or EU taxonomy integration, you can expand your ESG system in a targeted and needs-based way. This turns a streamlined entry point into a comprehensive solution for more sustainable business practices in the SME sector.
FAQs on VSME Reporting
Questions and Answers on ESG Reporting with VSME in leadity
Would you like to learn more about implementing the VSME standard with leadity? Feel free to send us your questions about VSME, VSME Plus, or voluntary ESG reporting at kontakt@leadity.de.
What is the VSME?
VSME (Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard for non-listed Micro-, Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises) is a voluntary reporting framework for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that wish to document their sustainability performance in a structured and comparable manner – without the bureaucratic burden of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). It was developed by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) on behalf of the European Commission.
VSME is specifically tailored to the needs of SMEs and is based on the core principles of the CSRD – but in a significantly simplified and more practical form.
The framework consists of a basic module with eleven ESG disclosures and an optional comprehensive module covering nine additional thematic areas. This structure offers a balanced level of transparency without overwhelming smaller companies.
When combined with a modern VSME software solution like leadity, VSME can be implemented with maximum efficiency. In addition, leadity supports companies in further developing their VSME reporting through its exclusive expansion concept, VSME Plus. This allows businesses to incorporate industry-specific ESG topics and position themselves strategically for the future.
Who Is VSME Suitable For?
VSME is aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are currently not subject to the legal ESG reporting requirements under the CSRD – yet still face increasing demands from customers, banks, ESG ratings, or public tenders.
VSME is particularly relevant for companies that:
- want to proactively prepare for future regulations
- need to efficiently meet ESG requirements from supply chains
- are seeking grants or improved financing conditions
- aim to make their sustainability performance visible – even without a legal obligation
The implementation is particularly efficient with VSME software such as leadity. Here, the entire VSME, including all mandatory and supplementary information, is digitally mapped. Companies can start precisely with what they need – and flexibly expand their VSME reporting with VSME plus. This makes leadity the ideal solution for SMEs that not only want to report but also aim to strategically use sustainability as a competitive advantage.
What Are the Benefits of VSME?
VSME offers small and medium-sized enterprises a clear and structured way to transparently document their sustainability performance – without the complexity of CSRD.
With only around 140 data points, VSME is significantly more streamlined than the ESRS standards under CSRD, which may require up to 1,200 disclosures. At the same time, VSME aligns with regulatory expectations, ensuring compatibility with stakeholders, banks, and ESG ratings.
Key benefits of VSME include:
- Modular structure: Companies can choose between a basic and a comprehensive module
- Low administrative burden: No mandatory external assurance, no extensive consulting required
- Improved access to finance: Transparent ESG reporting strengthens positioning with banks, investors, and in public tenders
With a specialized VSME software like leadity, implementation becomes especially efficient. The platform not only covers the full content of VSME but also extends it with VSME Plus – adding relevant topics such as supply chains, climate risks, or industry-specific ESG aspects. This enables companies to build ESG reporting that is credible, future-ready, and grounded in practice.
What Is Covered in a VSME Report?
VSME covers, at least at a basic level, the key topics of ESG reporting – that is, Environmental, Social, and Governance aspects.
The basic module includes eleven standardized disclosure topics, such as energy consumption, employee structure, diversity, working conditions, and governance. The comprehensive module adds nine further areas, including Scope 3 emissions, climate risks, and human rights due diligence.
In total, VSME consists of around 140 structured data points – divided into qualitative text fields, yes/no questions, measures, targets, and simple key performance indicators (KPIs).
With a professional VSME software like leadity, this information can be collected and structured digitally and automatically compiled into a complete VSME report. In addition, VSME Plus enables the inclusion of industry-specific ESG topics – for example, to meet requirements in tenders, ESG ratings, or stakeholder communications. This transforms a voluntary reporting framework into an effective management tool for sustainable business practices.
Can VSME Reporting Be Done Using Excel?
A basic VSME report can, in principle, be created using Excel – especially for small companies that only intend to use the basic module. For a one-time, surface-level VSME report or an initial data collection, Excel may offer a pragmatic solution.
In practice, however, VSME reporting in Excel quickly reaches its limits. Although VSME is intentionally streamlined, the roughly 140 data points from both the basic and comprehensive modules still represent a substantial volume of ESG information, measures, and documentation that must be managed in a structured way. Manual data entry, lack of automation, unclear role allocation, and a high potential for errors make long-term reporting in Excel cumbersome, inefficient, and difficult to oversee.
Companies looking to regularly update their VSME reporting, manage it across multiple locations, or expand it with strategic ESG topics will benefit significantly from a dedicated VSME software like leadity. After all, sustainable business practices don’t end with filling out a spreadsheet. Especially for companies that want to communicate their ESG performance in a credible, industry-specific, and future-ready way, an Excel file isn’t suffice. With leadity, VSME reporting becomes part of a holistic sustainability strategy: VSME Plus enables companies to go beyond the standard requirements and focus on the ESG topics that truly matter for their industry, customers, and stakeholders. This turns a streamlined reporting standard into a strategic management tool – enabling sustainability with structure and impact.
Report Voluntarily – Act Strategically
Become a Sustainability Leader
Strategic ESG reporting based on the VSME standard is your opportunity to position yourself early, build trust, and prepare for future regulatory developments. With leadity, you implement VSME (Plus) professionally – digitally, scalable, and tailored to your business. Our team will show you how to get started right away.