ESG standards are the international frameworks that define how a company should collect, calculate and disclose information on environmental, social and governance sustainability. In Europe, the CSRD directive has made ESRS (European Sustainability Reporting Standards) mandatory for a growing perimeter of companies; at global level, GRI Standards remain the most widely adopted voluntary framework. For non-listed Italian SMEs, EFRAG has published the simplified ESRS VSME standard. TreeBlock natively supports all these standards in a single workflow: collect data once, get audit-ready outputs in multiple formats.
What are ESG standards and why do you need them?
ESG standards (Environmental, Social, Governance) are sets of principles, indicators and methodologies that allow organizations to measure their impact on environment, people and corporate governance in an objective, comparable and verifiable way. Without a reference standard, every company would disclose ESG data in incompatible formats, preventing investors, customers and authorities from making comparisons or risk assessments.
Adopting a recognized ESG standard enables: compliance with mandatory regulation (CSRD, historical NFRD, sectoral requirements); access to sustainable finance (sustainability-linked loans, green bonds, ESG-linked credit ratings); participation in public tenders and supply chains with ESG requirements; receiving third-party ESG ratings (S&P, MSCI, Sustainalytics); reduced reputational and legal risk; attraction of talent and institutional investment.
What are the main ESG standards?
Main ESG standards in 2026 fall in three families. EU regulatory (mandatory under CSRD): ESRS full standards, ESRS VSME for SMEs, EU Taxonomy. Financial sustainability frameworks (global): ISSB IFRS S1 and S2. Voluntary impact frameworks: GRI Standards (stakeholder focus), SASB (sectoral), TCFD (climate), TNFD (nature), CDP (investor questionnaires).
TreeBlock natively implements ESRS, ESRS VSME, GRI, GHG Protocol, ISO 14064 and EU Taxonomy with bidirectional mapping between standards: collect data once and get reports compliant with every framework your stakeholders require.
How to pick the right ESG standard
The choice depends on four factors: mandatory regulation (CSRD scope?), stakeholder expectations (what do your large customers ask? are you listed?), sector (some sectors have specific standards) and size. For most Italian and European companies the decision boils down to three scenarios: non-listed SME under 250 employees use ESRS VSME; large companies in CSRD scope use full ESRS (plus GRI if international stakeholders ask); SMEs supplying large customers use ESRS VSME comprehensive module plus a Scope 3 summary table.
Frequently asked questions about ESG standards
- What is the difference between ESG and sustainability?
- Sustainability is a general concept indicating the ability of an organization to operate long-term without compromising environmental resources, social balance and stakeholder trust. ESG is the operational framework that translates sustainability into measurable metrics, indicators and disclosures.
- What are the ESRS standards and when do they apply?
- ESRS (European Sustainability Reporting Standards) are the 12 standards adopted by the European Commission in implementation of the CSRD directive. They apply progressively: large public-interest entities with over 500 employees from 2024 reporting, all large companies from 2025, listed SMEs and small banks from 2026, non-EU group subsidiaries with EUR 150M+ revenues in EU from 2028.
- Can an Italian SME use ESRS VSME?
- Yes. ESRS VSME is a voluntary standard published by EFRAG in December 2024 specifically for non-listed SMEs. It consists of a basic module with 11 essential disclosures and a comprehensive module with additional disclosures. It is the recommended choice for SMEs receiving ESG requests from large customers or banks.
- Are GRI Standards mandatory in Italy?
- No, GRI remains a voluntary international standard. In Italy mandatory reporting relies on ESRS (via CSRD). However many Italian companies continue to use GRI in parallel because it is the standard most recognized by international stakeholders.
- What does double materiality mean?
- Double materiality is the core principle of ESRS: the company evaluates both the impacts it generates on environment and society (impact materiality, inside-out) and the sustainability risks and opportunities that financially affect the company (financial materiality, outside-in).
Book a free TreeBlock demo to discover how the platform manages ESRS, GRI, ESRS VSME, GHG Protocol and EU Taxonomy in a single workflow. Our ESG experts will help you identify the right standard for your regulatory perimeter and stakeholders.