VSME REALITY CHECK
VSME can help to provide structured sustainability information for customers, banks and business partners.
However, not every piece of information is equally relevant to every company. And not everything needs to be fully available immediately.
The VSME Reality Check assesses which VSME disclosures apply to your situation, what is already available within the company, and where actual work is still required.
This creates a feasible starting point – rather than a reporting project launched into the blue.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
Perhaps a customer is requesting sustainability information. Perhaps a bank is asking questions. Perhaps VSME is being discussed internally as a possible basis. In that case, it is not initially about gathering as much data as possible. It is about three simple questions:
What information is actually expected from your company?
Which of these can VSME structure in a meaningful way?
What is already in place – and what would still need to be built?
The reality check puts these questions into a clear order.
You will not receive a VSME rating or a list of all theoretically possible disclosures. You will receive a realistic assessment of your starting position.
WHAT WE CHECK FOR YOU
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1. Put the occasion and expectations into context
We start with the specific occasion.
Who is asking for information? A customer, a bank, a supply chain partner, a portal, or your own management? What topics are being discussed? Is there already a questionnaire or specific expectations?
Not every inquiry requires a full VSME report. We distinguish between what is actually being requested and what might perhaps become relevant later.
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2. Determine relevant VSME disclosures
We will see which details are appropriate for your situation.
This is not about working through the entire standard point by point. We assess which topics are relevant to your company, your business partners, and your existing requirements.
For example, details on corporate profile and business model, energy, emissions and climate issues, employees and working conditions, supply chain, purchasing or procurement, governance, as well as existing sustainability measures and targets. The result is not a blanket demand for completeness. It is a reasoned look at what matters to you.
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3. Review existing data and documents
We record what is already there. This can include, for example, energy and material consumption, CO₂ calculations, employee numbers, policies, supplier information, customer questionnaires, certificates, internal evaluations, or published information. Not every gap needs to be closed immediately. In doing so, we clarify:
Which information can already be reliably used
Which information is located at different places within the company
Which data are still missing
Where a simple addition is possible – and where a larger structure would be necessary
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4. Assess responsibilities and effort realistically
VSME data is not generated in a single file alone.
We therefore also look at who knows the information, who can provide data, and where decisions need to be made.
Which departments would be involved
Which information is regularly available
Where knowledge depends on individual people
Which details can be structured for reuse
Where the effort is currently not reasonably proportionate to the benefit
The reality check thus also makes the actual resource requirements visible.
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5. Derive a feasible starting point
In the end, it is not about a perfect report.
We deduce what a sensible next step could be.
to prepare individual VSME disclosures for a specific request
to create a simple database
To organise responsibilities more clearly
to consolidate information for customers or banks
to prepare a voluntary VSME report step-by-step
or to monitor the topic first
If VSME is not yet the right next step for your current situation, we will say so plainly.
THIS IS OUR APPROACH
Understand the occasion and documentation
If available, you can send us customer enquiries, questionnaires, existing data, or internal documents. Complete preparation is not necessary.
Assess the initial situation together
We speak with the people who know the requirements, data and processes. This ensures that no picture is formed from a single perspective.
Assess relevance and gaps
We connect external expectations with existing information within the company. This makes it clear what is already usable, what is missing, and what has no priority for the time being.
Record next steps
You will receive a clear sequence for a feasible start.
WHAT YOU WILL RECEIVE
A comprehensible assessment of your VSME starting position.
She shows:
— which VSME topics could be relevant to your situation
— which information and documents are already available
— which information is still missing
— which departments and responsibilities need to be involved
— where a manageable start is possible, which topics may become relevant later, and which next steps make sense – and which do not yet.
The result is not a report, but a resilient basis for deciding whether and how you want to continue working with VSME.
WHO THE VSME REALITY CHECK IS USEFUL FOR
For companies that do not want to start on a sustainability report in the dark. For example, if:
Ask customers, banks or business partners for sustainability information
VSME is a possible answer to recurring requests
initial data and activities are available, but there is no overall picture yet
you want to realistically estimate the effort involved before reporting
several departments would have to contribute information
the management needs a reliable basis for decision-making
ORIENTATION, REALITY-CHECK OR AN ASSESSMENT OF WHERE YOU STAND?
The 90-minute orientation is suitable if you first want to clarify a specific question: "Is VSME even an issue for us?"
The VSME Reality Check is suitable if you want to seriously consider VSME as a possible framework and want to know which information, data and responsibilities would be relevant for it.
The sustainability assessment is suitable if you want to look more broadly at existing activities, data and responsibilities in the company – regardless of whether VSME is ultimately the right next step.
Orientation clarifies the first question. The reality check makes VSME tangible. The baseline assessment shows the entire initial picture.
WHAT THE VSME REALITY CHECK IS NOT
The reality check is not a finished VSME report, nor is it a legal audit.
We do not conclusively assess whether your company is subject to statutory reporting requirements. We do not prepare a complete carbon footprint, materiality analysis, sustainability strategy or externally auditable report.
The check creates the basis on which you can plan these steps sensibly – or make a well-founded decision that they are not currently pending.
CHECK FIRST. THEN BUILD.
We will show you what aspects of VSME may be relevant to your company, what is already in place, and which starting point suits your current situation.
Let's talk