The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has launched an appeal for companies and stakeholders across the European Union to participate in research regarding the application of upcoming voluntary sustainability standards. The initiative focuses on organisations that fall outside the mandatory requirements of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). EFRAG is specifically looking to engage with EU companies that are not SMEs but have fewer than 1,000 employees or an annual turnover below €450m.
The call for participation extends beyond corporations to include auditors, investors, lenders, and business associations. EFRAG intends to gather practical insights through a series of webinars, surveys, and interviews to understand how sustainability reporting is evolving and how the new voluntary framework can be implemented effectively. The move follows the adoption of the Omnibus I Package, which reduced the number of firms required to adopt mandatory reporting, leaving a significant portion of the market to pursue reporting on a discretionary basis.
Later this year, the European Commission is expected to formalise the Voluntary Standard (VS) as a Delegated Act. This new framework builds upon the Voluntary Standard for SMEs (VSME) published in late 2024 and endorsed by the Commission in July 2025. While EFRAG maintains an ongoing dialogue with smaller enterprises, this latest outreach aims to bridge the gap for larger entities that may choose to adopt these standards to meet the information demands of business partners and financiers. Interested parties have until 20 April 2026 to register their interest.
