For mid-market companies · 250 to 5,000 team members

Meet today's reporting obligations, prepare for tomorrow's

Your carbon footprint is no longer a standalone compliance task: it has become the shared language of your value chain. Kabaun structures your Scope 1, 2 and 3 data so you can answer, in a single motion, your home-country regulator, your CSRD-bound customers and the requirements of every export market you sell into.

Book a demoCheck which rules apply to me
CSRD, VSME, SECR, SB 253, CBAM, BEGES: one data foundation, every framework
Scope 1, 2 and 3 covered from your first reporting cycle
Klem, Kabaun's embedded AI, supports data collection and automates supplier follow-ups
Why now

Carbon is no longer a CSR topic, it's a market access topic

For a mid-market company, the carbon question now arrives through three doors at the same time. The legal door, with mandatory reporting in your home jurisdiction (CSRD in the EU, SECR in the UK, SB 253 in California, BEGES in France). The commercial door, with large-account customers asking for carbon data they can fold into their own Scope 3. And the financial door, with banks and investors making climate data a standard input to credit and capital decisions.

Direct legal obligation

Depending on your jurisdiction: CSRD in the EU above 1,000 employees and EUR 450M revenue, SECR in the UK for quoted and large unquoted companies, SB 253 in California above USD 1B revenue, BEGES in France above 500 employees. Penalties differ but the trajectory is the same: carbon reporting is moving from optional to mandatory.

Value chain pressure

Your CSRD-bound customers must report their Scope 3. They need carbon data from you that is aligned, readable and comparable. Without it, the risk is not immediate, it is the next RFP, where being deselected becomes a real outcome.

Access to financing and export markets

Banks, funds and public buyers now treat climate data as a prerequisite. On export markets (UK SECR, California SB 253, EU CBAM at the border) it is also a regulatory pre-condition for doing business.

Applicable regulations

Identify the frameworks that apply to you

This table summarises the main frameworks that may apply to you, either directly or through your customers and export markets. Identify the ones that match your situation, Kabaun covers the full set with a single data foundation.

Country / ZoneFrameworkTrigger thresholdMandatory scopes
FranceBEGES (mandatory French carbon footprint reporting, art. L.229-25 environmental code)> 500 employeesScope 1 + 2 + 3 + transition plan
EUCSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, post-Omnibus I)> 1,000 employees AND > EUR 450M revenueFull ESRS (E1+E2+E3 where material)
EUVSME (Voluntary SME Standard)< 1,000 employees (value chain cap)Voluntary standard, formal Commission adoption due by 19 July 2026
UKSECR (Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting)Quoted, or > 250 employees + revenue / balance sheet criteriaScope 1+2 mandatory, Scope 3 voluntary
CaliforniaSB 253 (Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act)> USD 1B revenue, doing business in CAScope 1+2 from August 2026, Scope 3 from 2027
CaliforniaSB 261 (Climate-Related Financial Risk Act)> USD 500M revenueClimate risk reporting (TCFD-like)
EUCBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism)Importers into the EU: steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, electricity, hydrogenDeclaration of embedded emissions on imports

Sources: ESRS (EFRAG / European Commission), UK SECR Regulations, California SB 253 / SB 261, EU regulation 2023/956 (CBAM), French environmental code. Last updated: April 2026.

Map my obligations in 15 minutes
How Kabaun answers

One data foundation, every regulatory output

You don't build your carbon footprint three times. You build it once, properly, and Kabaun renders it in the format each framework expects.

Pillar 1 · Collection

Centralise your Scope 1, 2 and 3 data, no parallel spreadsheets

Your energy, procurement, travel, freight and upstream/downstream data are gathered into a single interface. ERP/IT connectors, no-code ETL and CSV/Excel imports with AI-assisted mapping, full traceability from the source file to the emission factor applied.

Pillar 2 · Calculation

GHG Protocol methodology, recognised emission factors

Calculations aligned with the GHG (Greenhouse Gas) Protocol and the ADEME Bilan Carbone method. Continuously updated emission factor library (ADEME Base Empreinte, UK DEFRA, US EPA). Full traceability of assumptions for internal audit and third-party verification.

Pillar 3 · Steering

From the footprint to the transition plan

Dashboards by Scope, by site, by activity. Configurable SBTi (Science Based Targets initiative) trajectories, reduction action tracking, year-on-year comparison. CSRD/ESRS E1 reporting, BEGES compliance and structured data ready for the upcoming VSME standard.

Pillar 4 · Klem

The AI that helps you trust your data

Klem suggests the relevant emission factors, flags anomalies in your imports and automates supplier follow-ups. Not a gadget chatbot: an assistant that compresses data collection from weeks to days.

The post-Omnibus differentiator

VSME: the shared language of your value chain

Since the European Commission adopted the Omnibus I package, companies subject to CSRD can no longer demand from their suppliers below 1,000 employees more than what the VSME (Voluntary SME Standard) prescribes. That ceiling is legally binding. In practice, VSME is becoming the format your large-account customers will use when they ask you for carbon data.

If you are a mid-market company below the CSRD threshold, anticipating VSME is not adding a regulatory burden. It is preparing for the conversation that will actually matter with your large customers and your financing partners: "here is my data, in the format you expect, ready to be consolidated into your own reporting."

A note for non-EU readers. CSRD itself does not apply to you if your group is fully outside the EU. But if you have an EU subsidiary, or if you supply EU groups subject to CSRD, the VSME pressure reaches you anyway: your EU-based customers will ask for VSME-aligned data, because that is the maximum they can ask for and the minimum they need to consolidate. The Commission has until 19 July 2026 to formally adopt the standard. Kabaun structures your data today so it can be produced in the right format when the time comes.

For your CSRD-bound customers

You become a supplier they can plug into their Scope 3 reporting, you stay on their preferred-supplier list.

For your financing partners

VSME data feeds directly into the ESG questionnaires used by banks and investors (SFDR, EU taxonomy).

For your export markets

VSME is aligned with UK and US expectations, you save time when SECR or SB 253 enter your perimeter.

Understand VSME in 20 minutes
Mid-market use cases

Three mid-market profiles, one Kabaun foundation

Whether you operate in industrials, logistics or food and beverage, the entry point differs but the underlying data foundation is the same.

Case 1 · Industrial manufacturing

EU-based manufacturer, 800 team members, multi-site presence in the EU, exporting around 30% of revenue including UK and US markets.

ChallengeCSRD applicable at group level, CBAM exposure on imports of steel or aluminium, growing requests from CSRD-bound customers on product-level Scope 3 data.
What Kabaun deliversA consolidated multi-site footprint, product-level traceability to answer Scope 3 requests, structured data in the format CSRD-bound customers expect, CBAM declaration where relevant.

Case 2 · Logistics and transport

International logistics group, 1,200 team members, mixed road and maritime fleet, EU + UK + US clients across industrials and retail.

ChallengeCSRD applicable (above 1,000 employees), upstream Scope 3 (fuels) and downstream Scope 3 (use of vehicles by clients) to consolidate, RFP requests increasingly precise on per-shipment carbon intensity.
What Kabaun deliversIntegration of fleet data, calculation per shipment and per client, ESRS output for the CSRD report and a simplified output for client RFPs.

Case 3 · Food and beverage

EU food manufacturer, 600 team members, 4 production sites, retail distribution plus UK exports, supplier to large grocery groups subject to CSRD.

ChallengePressure from large grocery customers to provide carbon data per product reference, SECR alignment for UK exports, anticipation of VSME requests from CSRD-bound retailers.
What Kabaun deliversUpstream Scope 3 on agricultural raw materials, allocation per site and per product reference, output adapted to retailer questionnaires, data aligned with SECR requirements for UK exports.
FAQ

Your questions, our direct answers

Which carbon regulation applies to me?
It depends on where you operate and how big you are. In the EU, CSRD applies above 1,000 employees and EUR 450M revenue (post-Omnibus I). In France, BEGES (mandatory French carbon footprint reporting) applies above 500 employees, regardless of CSRD. In the UK, SECR applies to quoted companies and large unquoted companies. In California, SB 253 applies above USD 1B revenue if you do business there, SB 261 above USD 500M. CBAM applies if you import certain carbon-intensive goods into the EU. The tooling is the same in every case: a clean Scope 1, 2 and 3 data foundation that Kabaun renders into the right framework.
What should I ask my own suppliers for?
Since Omnibus I, CSRD-bound companies cannot ask their below-1,000-employee suppliers for more than the VSME standard. The same logic applies in mirror to you: asking your own suppliers for VSME-aligned data is the right level of detail. Kabaun automates supplier follow-ups and Klem helps you integrate their inputs into your Scope 3.
What exactly is VSME?
The Voluntary SME Standard is a simplified sustainability reporting standard, designed by EFRAG for SMEs and mid-market companies outside the CSRD scope. Formal adoption by the European Commission is due by 19 July 2026. It becomes the ceiling of what large customers can request from suppliers below 1,000 employees. For non-EU companies, this is the standard your EU-based customers will ask you to follow when they need carbon data from you. Anticipating VSME means anticipating the format in which your CSRD-bound customers will query you.
And CBAM if I export?
CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) does not concern exports out of the EU, it concerns imports into the EU of certain carbon-intensive goods: steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, electricity, hydrogen. If you are a non-EU exporter selling these goods to EU buyers, your customers will need declared embedded emissions for their CBAM filings, and they will ask you for that data. If you are an EU-based importer of these goods, you must declare embedded emissions yourself and, in time, buy certificates. Kabaun integrates CBAM declaration into your data foundation, with no double entry.
How long does a first carbon footprint take?
For a multi-site mid-market company, a usable first footprint is typically built in a few weeks, mainly constrained by the quality of your existing data. Collection is the most time-consuming phase. Klem and the Kabaun team compress that phase by automating imports and suggesting the relevant emission factors.
What does Klem actually do?
Klem is the AI embedded in Kabaun. It suggests relevant emission factors for your purchases and activities, flags inconsistencies and duplicates in your data imports, and automates supplier follow-ups. Klem is not a FAQ chatbot: it is a copilot that saves weeks on collection and data quality.

Make your carbon footprint a commercial asset, not a cost centre

30 minutes with a Kabaun expert to map your obligations, identify what your value chain expects from you, and estimate the shortest path to a solid data foundation.

Book a demo

No credit card, no commitment. 30 useful minutes, even if you decide not to go further.