The voluntary standard and the revised ESRS are in the Official Journal: the dates that now apply

The two delegated regulations the Commission adopted on 3 July 2026 were published in the Official Journal on 21 September 2026, after the scrutiny period passed without objection from the European Parliament or the Council. One makes the voluntary sustainability reporting standard (VSME) an EU legal act and sets the value chain cap. The other replaces the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) with a shorter, simplified version.

Adoption told you what the rules would say. Publication fixes when they apply.

The dates in one table

What the voluntary standard regulation says

It is short. Companies that do not have to report under EU law may disclose sustainability information on a voluntary basis using the standard in its Annex I, and may use EFRAG's practical guidance alongside it. Companies that do have to report may not ask suppliers and other companies in their value chain with up to 1,000 employees for more than the datapoints listed in Annex II, the value chain cap. That cap applies from financial year 2027.

For a company that already prepares a VSME report, nothing in the content changes with publication. What changes is its status: the standard you report against is now the one in the Official Journal, which gives a supplier a clear reference when a customer's questionnaire asks for more.

The choice for financial year 2026

For financial years starting in 2026, companies that report under the ESRS may use one of three versions, and must say clearly in their sustainability statement which one they used:

1. the previous ESRS, as last amended in 2025;
2. the previous ESRS with a set of reliefs taken from the revised version, for example on the double materiality assessment, the value chain and the executive summary;
3. the revised ESRS.

From financial year 2027 only the revised ESRS apply.

What to do with this

• If you report voluntarily, cite the standard by its regulation number in your report, so a reader knows exactly which version you followed.
• If customers send you questionnaires, compare their questions with the value chain cap in Annex II from financial year 2027, and answer the rest only if you choose to.
• If you report under the ESRS, decide your version for 2026 now and write it down, because it shapes the materiality work you do this autumn.

Our guides explain the voluntary standard and the Omnibus changes in more detail. Sustainability reporting in Greener Ahead prepares a report against the voluntary standard as published, disclosure by disclosure.