Käkikuu Blog

Kaksoisolennaisuusanalyysi pk-yrityksessä auttaa arvioimaan vastuullisuusteemojen merkitystä

What Does Double Materiality Analysis Mean for an SME?

A Double Materiality Analysis in an SME helps the company identify which sustainability issues are most significant for its business, people, and the environment. It brings clarity in a situation where expectations, requirements, and opportunities related to sustainability are constantly increasing. For an SME, the value of double materiality analysis is primarily strategic. It enables the company to assess which sustainability issues it should focus on first and where the greatest impact can be achieved. When resources are limited, this is important. Read more

By Jukka K. Niemi, ago
Henkilö merkitsee tehtävälistaa muistivihkoon

VSME – hype or real value for SMEs?

The benefit of VSME for an SME does not arise from the standard itself. It arises from the way it is used. In discussions, the voluntary sustainability reporting standard VSME for SMEs is often presented as a solution to SMEs’ sustainability challenges. It brings structure, comparability, and a common language with financiers. But no reporting framework develops a company on its own. Value is created only when management understands how the collected information will be used. When reporting supports decision-making and sustainability is linked to business development, risks, and opportunities. Read more

By Jukka K. Niemi, ago
Pk-yrityksen vastuullisuustyön suunnittelu käytännössä työpöydän ääressä

How Should an SME Build its Sustainability Work in Practice?

Sustainability work in an SME should be built from the business itself, not from a reporting framework. This is a simple principle that is surprisingly often forgotten when the discussion turns to standards and requirements. Many SMEs begin sustainability work by selecting a model or reporting framework. It seems logical, but it easily leads to a situation where action is subordinated to structure. Sustainability becomes a document rather than development A functional approach proceeds differently. Read more

By Jukka K. Niemi, ago
Havainnekuva institutionaalisesta työstä pk-yrityksissä ja VSME-sääntelykehyksen vaikutuksesta

When a Sustainability Expert Maintains an Institution – Unintentionally

Institutional work in SMEs is surprisingly clearly visible in the VSME discussion. In recent months, I have followed the discussion surrounding the voluntary VSME sustainability reporting standard. Reactions have largely been positive. The standard is described as necessary, useful, and a development in the right direction. More rarely do we stop to ask: what is actually happening when we, as experts, say this? In organizational research, the concept of institutional work refers to the actions carried out by actors such as companies, experts, and public authorities through which they create, maintain, or change the rules of the game Read more

By Jukka K. Niemi, ago
VSME, CSRD, ESRS, ESG, vastuullisuus, raportointi, pk-yritys

Strengths and Weaknesses of VSME From The Perspective of an SME

The strengths and weaknesses of VSME from an SME perspective divide opinions. Some see it as a light solution to reporting requirements, while others view it as another flower in the bouquet of bureaucracy. The truth lies somewhere in between. The voluntary sustainability reporting standard VSME for SMEs is not a bad model, but it is not without its problems. On the contrary, it can offer an SME a clear framework in a situation where sustainability-related information requests and requirements are increasing. For many companies, simply mapping their emissions and key impacts is already a significant step. Read more

By Jukka K. Niemi, ago
VSME, CSRD, ESRS, ESG, vastuullisuus, raportointi, pk-yritys

Why does sustainability reporting alone not change anything in SMEs?

Sustainability reporting in SMEs often starts from external pressure: a customer requests ESG data, a financier asks about sustainability, or a tender requires a report. This encourages companies to look for solutions such as the VSME standard for SMEs. In such cases, reporting easily becomes a compliance task: data is collected, tables are filled in, but nothing in the company’s operations actually changes. The problem is not the data. The problem is that the data and its collection remain disconnected from the company’s everyday activities. If ESG information does not support management discussions, help prioritize the company’s sustainability work, or guide decision-making, it does not create value for the company. Read more

By Jukka K. Niemi, ago
VSME, CSRD, ESRS, ESG, vastuullisuus, raportointi, pk-yritys

The VSME Standard for SMEs – What Is It Really Intended For?

EU:n vapaaehtoinen kestävyysraportointistandardi VSME (Voluntary Standard for non-listed Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) on kehitetty pk-yrityksille, jotka eivät kuulu CSRD-direktiivin piiriin mutta kohtaavat yhä useammin vastuullisuustietopyyntöjä asiakkailta, rahoittajilta ja yhteistyökumppaneilta. Lue myös EU kommission linjauksesta VSME-standardin käytöstä. Paperilla tavoite on järkevä:– yhtenäistää vastuullisuustietoa– helpottaa ESG-tietopyyntöihin vastaamista– parantaa pk-yritysten rahoituksen saatavuutta Käytännössä VSME on kuitenkin raportointiviitekehys, ei vastuullisuustyön malli. Standardin laadinnassa lähtökohtina ovat olleet ensisijaisesti rahoittajien ja muiden sidosryhmien, ei pk-yritysten tarpeet. Se ei kerro, mitä Read more

By Jukka K. Niemi, ago
vastuullisuus, vastuullisuustyö, kestävä kehitys, pk-yritys,, muutos, muotoilu, johtaminen, muutosjohtaminen

SME Responsibility Work Through the Lens of Change and Design Thinking

Responsibility work in SMEs is often discussed in terms of methods, models, and tools. Surveys, reporting templates, metrics, and processes are offered with the promise of making sustainability work easier and helping it move forward. Yet in many SMEs, responsibility work is carried out, but its impact remains unclear. Habicher et al. (2021) examine sustainable change in SMEs from the perspectives of change and design thinking, and the message of the study to SME management is surprisingly clear: the problem in sustainability work is not a lack of methods, but what the change is actually connected to. Read more

By Jukka K. Niemi, ago
dual-use, kaksikäyttö, eettisyys, vastuullisuus, johtaminen

Dual-Use Is a Long-Term Opportunity for Companies

The dual-use of products and technologies has recently gained strong prominence in innovation discourse, industrial policy, and financing. Geopolitical uncertainty, the slowdown of globalization, the strategic importance of technology, and issues related to security of supply have increased investor and development-organization interest in defense- and security-related solutions. According to estimates, a significant share of venture capital investments is now directed toward technologies that also have a potential security or defense linkage, even though the proportion of companies focused purely on defense remains small. Read more

By Jukka K. Niemi, ago
kaksoisolennaisuusanalyysi, ESG, CSRD, ESRS, VSME, yritysvastuu, vastuullisuus

Double Materiality Analysis as a Strategic Tool for SMEs

Kaksoisolennaisuusanalyysi pk-yrityksessä liitetään usein suuriin yrityksiin ja ESRS-standardien edellyttämään raportointiin. Todellisuudessa sen arvo pk-yrityksille on vähintään yhtä merkittävä – ei siksi, että sitä pitäisi tehdä sääntelyn takia, vaan siksi, että se antaa pienenkin yrityksen käsiin työkalun, joka auttaa suuntaamaan rajalliset resurssit juuri niihin asioihin, joilla saadaan aikaan mahdollisimman suuri vaikutus. Pk-yritysten toimintaympäristö muuttuu nopeasti: kustannukset nousevat, asiakkaiden vaatimukset kasvavat, arvoketjut monimutkaistuvat ja yhä useampi kumppani edellyttää läpinäkyvyyttä. Tässä ympäristössä sattumanvarainen vastuullisuustyö ei enää riitä, vaan Read more

By Jukka K. Niemi, ago
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