Norwegian guide v1.0 turns VS datapoints into practice

Norwegian undertakings outside mandatory sustainability reporting have a new practical aid: a Norwegian guide to the EU Voluntary Standard (VS), version 1.0, finalised on 23 October 2026Regnskapnorge. The guide builds on the earlier Norwegian guidance for VSME and is updated to the adopted VS standardRegnskapnorge, which in all essentials continues VSME. Regnskap Norge contributed to the workRegnskapnorge and sat in the working group behind the guideRegnskapnorge.

VS gives undertakings a common framework for reporting sustainability information to larger undertakings and financial institutions, among others, and is aimed at undertakings not covered by mandatory sustainability reporting under the regnskapsloven. The standard is intended to make it easier to supply sustainability information to different stakeholders and can also support undertakings' strategic work on their own sustainability performance. In practice, questions arise when individual requirements are converted into concrete reporting: what a requirement means in a Norwegian context, where the undertaking finds the information, and how it is calculated and presented.

The guide follows the concrete disclosure requirements and datapoints in VSRegnskapnorge. Under each disclosure requirement, the datapoints are gathered in tables, followed by guidance on the purpose of the requirement, concepts and definitions, data basis and calculation methods; where relevant, the guide also gives examples and references to recognised professional sources. An undertaking can thus find practical guidance on collecting data on water withdrawal, calculating energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and reading existing Norwegian reporting together with the social indicators in VS. The guide also supports the basic choices an undertaking must make, including module choice, which datapoints are mandatory or relevance-dependent, and how the reporting can be structured.

A central premise is that the guide is neither a definitive answer key nor an interpretation of VS; it is meant to simplify and inspire, and in case of doubt the standard and the standard-setter's guidance material prevail. The working group stresses that it adds no reporting requirements on top of VS — the goal is to make the existing requirements easier to understand and handle in a Norwegian context. For accountants the guide is therefore a tool both for their own undertaking's reporting and for clients that want, or are asked, to supply sustainability information.

The guide was produced on a voluntary basis by a working group with representatives from Regnskap Norge, NHO, Revisorforeningen, Brønnøysundregistrene, NHO Byggenæringen and Finans NorgeRegnskapnorge, as part of a larger project to make reported sustainability information of high quality easily accessible; professional communities, authorities and other stakeholders also gave input through the consultation round during development of the VSME guide. The guide puts into practice Commission Recommendation (EU) 2025/1710 of 30 July 2025Europa on a voluntary sustainability reporting standard for SMEsRegnskapnorgeEuropa, whose basic and comprehensive modules sit in its Annex I with complementary practical guidance in Annex II.