B1: Basis for preparation
The foundation of your report: the option you apply, who the report covers and the basic facts about your company.
In brief
B1 sets the basis of the report. You state which option you apply, Basic Module only (Option A) or Basic and Comprehensive Module (Option B), and declare that the report complies with the VS. B1 also lists any information omitted under paragraph 22. It says whether the report covers one company or a group, lists the subsidiaries and gives basic company information, from legal form to the location of your sites. Sustainability certifications and labels are described here too.
At a glance
- Requirement
- Essential. Subsidiaries if the report is consolidated; certifications if you have them.
- 10 employees or less
- Required in full.
- Value chain cap (from 2027)
- Included for all sizes: option, reporting basis and company information.
- In Selko Report
- Page "Basis for Preparation"
What changed from VSME
- New: an explicit statement that the report complies with the VS under the selected option.
- Changed: omitted information is listed under the four grounds of paragraph 22. VSME covered only classified or sensitive information.
- Clarified: a site is any physical location where the company operates, including offices and premises shared with others.
- Unchanged: reporting basis, subsidiaries with registered address, legal form, NACE code, balance sheet, turnover, employees, country, site geolocation and certifications.
VS Standard Reference
The official text of the Voluntary Standard, Annex I to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1560.
Selko Insights
How Selko applies it
Option B and the statement of compliance
Selko prepares every report as Option B, the Basic and the Comprehensive Module together. This is our recommendation for companies whose customers or banks ask for sustainability data. The downloaded report opens with "Basis for preparation": the option, then the statement of compliance when every essential datapoint is covered. If something is still open, it shows a notice that lists the open items instead.
Omitted information is listed for you
When you omit a disclosure on a paragraph 22 ground, Selko Report records the ground and lists the omission in B1 of the downloaded report automatically. A voluntary item you choose not to report is not listed, because it is not an omission.
Company information synced from your settings
Legal form, NACE code and country come from your organization settings with "Sync from company info". The NACE code follows NACE Rev. 2.1. Turnover is net sales and the balance sheet total is total assets, from the financial statements of the same year. In a consolidated report, use the group figures.
Employees in headcount at year end
Selko Report uses the headcount on the last day of the financial year: each person counts as one, whatever their working hours. You enter it once on the Workforce page, and it is the employee figure for the whole report. Full-time equivalents are collected as well, for example for the accident rate.
Sites with coordinates
List every site you own, lease or manage, including offices and shared premises. The address search fills in the street address and the coordinates in one go, and sites without coordinates are located automatically. If you also use Selko Property, sites can be filled from your buildings. The same site list feeds the biodiversity and water-stress screening (B5, B6) and, if you do not use Selko Property, Selko Climate Risk.
Certifications and labels
The VS does not list which certifications count. We recommend including every certification or label that covers environmental, social or governance matters, for example ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 50001, EMAS, EcoVadis, B Corp, Nordic Swan Ecolabel, EU Ecolabel, FSC or Fairtrade. A quality certificate such as ISO 9001 is usually not sustainability-related. For each, give the issuer, the date and the rating if there is one.
Groups and subsidiaries
A consolidated report lists every subsidiary it covers, with business ID, legal form, NACE code and registered address. Groups can collect data per company: Selko adds the companies' figures together in the group view, and the downloaded report states the group's consolidated figures.
Frequently asked questions
Related content
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Read moreReady to make progress?
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