The value chain cap is law: how to get Scope 3 data without chasing suppliers

The VSME standard is now EU law, and from FY2027 it doubles as a value chain cap: suppliers with 1,000 or fewer employees can turn down climate data requests that go beyond it.

Here is what the cap actually limits, when it starts, and how to build a Scope 3 inventory from invoices you already hold instead of from supplier questionnaires that come back empty.

01 - WHAT CHANGED

What the revised ESRS and the VSME standard changed

On 21 September 2026, two delegated regulations landed in the Official Journal of the EU on the same day, closing out the Omnibus I simplification (Arendt via Lexgo, 20 October 2026).

The first, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563, is the revised ESRS: fewer datapoints, a stronger materiality filter, and explicit room for estimates when value chain data is hard to get.

The second, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1560, turns the VSME into law. It is formally called the sustainability reporting standard for voluntary use, and it is built on the 2025 VSME recommendation, with the same basic and comprehensive modules.

It also does something new. It sets a value chain cap: an upper limit on what a company reporting under the CSRD may require from companies in its value chain that averaged 1,000 employees or fewer in the preceding financial year.

From FY2027, mandatory CSRD reporting covers companies above both 1,000 employees and €450 million in net turnover. Many of their suppliers sit below the 1,000 employee line, and those are the suppliers the cap protects.

02 - THE DATES

When does the value chain cap apply?

From financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027. That is Article 3 of Regulation 2026/1560, and it is the date that matters for your supplier requests.

Some posts have said the cap has applied since 24 September. That is an easy mix-up: 24 September is when the regulation entered into force, three days after publication. Its application date for the cap is later, and the regulation says so in plain text.

So there is a short window. Reporting on FY2026 sits before the cap. FY2027 is the first year it bites.

03 - WHAT IT LIMITS

What suppliers can and cannot be asked for

The cap is a list. Annex II of the regulation names the datapoints a reporting company may require from a protected supplier, and nothing else counts.

For climate, that list is short. A protected supplier with more than 10 employees can be asked for total energy use in MWh and an estimate of its own Scope 1 and location-based Scope 2 emissions. A supplier with 10 employees or fewer is not covered by even that.

What sits above the cap: the supplier's Scope 3, its reduction targets, and product carbon footprints for what it sold you. You can still ask. You have to say the request goes beyond the cap, and the supplier may simply say no.

Two limits on the limit. The cap only covers requests made for sustainability reporting, and it does not restrict information that other EU or national laws require. Suppliers above 1,000 employees are not protected at all.

04 - WHY IT MATTERS

Why the supplier questionnaire was already a weak route to Scope 3

Picture the questionnaire most teams send today: emissions per product, share of renewable power, reduction targets, a methodology note. From FY2027, most of that is optional for most of the people receiving it.

Even the part you can still require has a catch. A supplier's Scope 1 and 2 total describes the supplier's company, not the pallet of parts it shipped you. To use it you have to allocate it, usually by revenue share, which turns primary data back into an estimate.

We covered the method side in what to do when suppliers won't share emissions data. This is the regulatory follow-up: for many suppliers, "won't" now has a legal basis.

The revised ESRS point the same way. They state that value chain information is not needed from every actor, and that estimates and indirect information can be used where appropriate.

05 - THE INVOICE ROUTE

How to get Scope 3 data without chasing suppliers

The cap limits what you can demand from suppliers. It says nothing about the documents already in your own books.

Every purchase invoice tells you what was bought, how much of it, and from whom. A line that reads 400 kg of PP granulate from a named supplier is activity data. So is a freight leg, a hotel night, a batch of laptops.

Rebuild that activity line by line and match an emission factor to the product, not the price. Where a line is too thin, fall back to spend with the assumption written down. The GHG Protocol already ranks spend-based last. For purchased goods, our Scope 3 Category 1 guide covers the detail.

Doing it by hand across tens of thousands of lines is not realistic, and a DIY tool your team has to feed just moves the chasing indoors.

Bardo does this as managed software. It reads your invoices and ERP data digitally, identifies the product and supplier on each line, and builds a carbon footprint inventory at product level. We run it, you review it, and every figure opens back to the invoice behind it.

So far that covers 250+ companies and over €5B in net commercial flow analysed.

More on why the method matters in spend-based vs activity-based carbon accounting.

06 - WHAT TO DO NOW

What to do before FY2027 starts

Sort suppliers by size. Flag which ones averaged 1,000 employees or fewer. For many companies that is most of the supplier list.

Cut your questionnaire to Annex II. Anything beyond it needs a clear note that it goes past the cap and that answering is voluntary.

Keep primary data where it pays. A handful of large, unprotected suppliers may still be worth a direct conversation, especially for your biggest material flows.

Move the rest to invoice data. Build activity from what you bought, and document every estimate so an assurer can follow it.

Then test it on real documents. The mini-demo takes up to 10 invoices and shows the activity rebuilt from your own lines. Questions? info@bardo.se.

07 - FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the VSME standard?

The voluntary sustainability reporting standard for companies outside mandatory CSRD reporting. It was published as Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1560 on 21 September 2026, built on the 2025 VSME recommendation, with a basic and a comprehensive module. It also sets the value chain cap for suppliers of CSRD reporters.

2. When does the value chain cap apply?

For financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027. The regulation entered into force on 24 September 2026, but Article 3, the cap itself, only applies from FY2027. Reporting on FY2026 sits before it.

3. Can a supplier refuse to share its Scope 3 emissions?

From FY2027, yes, if it averaged 1,000 employees or fewer in the preceding financial year and the request is for your sustainability reporting. Scope 3 is not on the Annex II list. You may still ask, but you must say the request goes beyond the cap.

4. Which climate data can we still require from smaller suppliers?

From a protected supplier with more than 10 employees: total energy use in MWh and an estimate of its Scope 1 and location-based Scope 2 emissions. From suppliers with 10 employees or fewer, neither is covered by the cap.

5. Does the cap stop us from calculating supplier emissions ourselves?

No. The cap limits what you can require from suppliers, not how you account for your own purchases. You can rebuild activity from your own invoices and ERP data and match emission factors to it. The Bardo mini-demo shows this on up to 10 of your invoices.