20/02/2024 - Launch of educational videos on SME standards

​EFRAG has created educational videos to provide interested stakeholders with a better understanding of the draft SME standards.

This series is composed of three videos presented by the EFRAG Sustainability Reporting TEG members and Secretariat:

• Highlights of the two SME Exposure Drafts by Chiara Del Prete, EFRAG SR TEG Chairwoman;
• Presentation of ESRS LSME Exposure Draft by Paolo Mazzeo, EFRAG Senior Technical Manager; and
• Presentation of VSME Exposure Draft by Elisa Bevilacqua, EFRAG Senior Technical Manager

BACKGROUND

EFRAG has received the mandate to develop a standard for SMEs that are public-interest entities. These include those whose transferable securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market in the European Union, SNCIs (small and non-complex institutions) and captive insurers and reinsurers in what is called ESRS LSME. The standard would be applicable from 2026 onwards, with an additional two-year opt-out period. The standard will be issued as delegated act. The ESRS LSME ED has the function of enhancing ESG data availability from smaller undertakings to investors, thereby increasing their access to sustainability portfolios and avoiding discrimination due to the lack of sustainability information.

EFRAG has also been tasked with developing a voluntary standard for non-listed SMEs (VSME). This standard aims to be a simple reporting tool used by micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to better monitor their sustainability performance and face growing and different ESG data requests from their business counterparts (i.e., banks, investors, or larger companies in the upstream value chain).

The EFRAG SRB approved the ESRS LSME ED on 15 December and VSME ED on 29 November 2023. The Exposure Drafts were issued on 22 January and the consultation period expires on 21 May 2024.

Watch the videos on our Youtube channel.