Basic and Comprehensive are not two levels of a company's sustainability performance. They define reporting scope. Completing more sections does not by itself make a business more sustainable.
What differs
VSME under the 2025 Recommendation contains B1-B11 in Basic and C1-C9 in Comprehensive. Basic is a prerequisite for Comprehensive. This is a requirement within a voluntarily chosen standard, not a general obligation for every company.
Comprehensive adds information on strategy, policies, climate, workforce, human rights and governance. Read each datapoint's instructions to distinguish requirements, applicability conditions and optional information. EFRAG text: structure and principles.
Three questions before choosing
Who will use the report? Read the actual request. A bank may need information beyond Basic; a customer may require a particular indicator. Do not assign a module automatically from the recipient's category.
Which data and processes exist? Check sources, owners and controls. Where the question allows it, state that a policy has not been adopted rather than inventing one to fill a page.
How much work is involved? Estimate from sites, activities, source availability and the deadline. There is no universal six-week or three-month completion time.
Not applicable is not missing
Only use non-applicability when the circumstances specified in the standard support it. Missing data is not an applicability exemption.
Keep separate internal statuses: available, partial, missing, needs review, and not applicable with a reason. Disclosing a gap does not automatically make a report complete.
Extending the programme
Basic can be accompanied by clearly identified additional information. A report described as Basic + Comprehensive must assess the whole additional module rather than select only convenient sections.
Assurance is a separate engagement and does not make Comprehensive mandatory. Software does not award certification.
Check the 2026 version
The new VS retains two modules but changes some datapoints. Do not automatically apply a 2025 guide to a report labelled VS 2026. Check versions and legal status.
Continue with B1-B11/C1-C9 and the data inventory.