Do I Need to Disclose if My Office is Near a Biodiversity-Sensitive Area?

Under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), large companies — and, indirectly, their suppliers — must report on their environmental impacts. While small and growing businesses (SMEs) are not directly covered by CSRD, your bank or a major client may still request similar information.

One question that often arises is about biodiversity: what if your office or warehouse isn’t in a forest or nature reserve, but happens to be close to one? Do you need to report it?

What the standards require

The Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard for SMEs (VSME) includes biodiversity as part of its Basic Module. It states that small and growing businesses (SMEs) should disclose:

• The number and area of sites they own, lease, or manage that are in or near a biodiversity-sensitive area.

Biodiversity-sensitive areas are places recognised for protection under European or international law, such as:

• Natura 2000 protected sites (the EU’s network of nature areas).
• UNESCO World Heritage sites.
• Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs).
• Other nationally designated protected areas (e.g. wetlands, forest reserves).

The guidance clarifies that “near” means overlapping or directly adjacent — not just somewhere in the same region.

Does this matter for an office-based SME?

For most office-based small and growing businesses (SMEs) — IT firms, consultancies, retail headquarters — the answer is simple: no disclosure is needed because these sites are rarely located near protected areas.

But if your office, warehouse, or workshop:

• borders a protected river, wetland, or forest,
• sits next to a Natura 2000 site, or
• operates in an industrial zone that touches a protected area,

…then you should disclose this information under the VSME Basic Module.

How to check your location

You can use free online tools to confirm whether your site is near a sensitive area:

• Natura 2000 Viewer: https://natura2000.eea.europa.eu/
• Protected Planet: https://www.protectedplanet.net/en
• Key Biodiversity Areas Database: https://www.keybiodiversityareas.org/

Enter your office address or coordinates and check if it overlaps or borders a listed area.

How to disclose

If your site is not near a biodiversity-sensitive area, a simple statement is enough:

“The company owns and operates one office site in [city/country]. This site is not located in or adjacent to a biodiversity-sensitive area.”

If your site is near such an area, you should name it clearly:

“The company leases one office site of 0.2 hectares in [city/country]. This site is adjacent to the Natura 2000 protected wetland area [name]. No operations directly impact the protected area.”

The bottom line

• You only need to disclose if your office or facility is in or immediately next to a biodiversity-sensitive area.
• For most service-based small and growing businesses (SMEs), this will be a straightforward “not applicable.”
• If you are close to a protected site, keep the disclosure factual and simple.

Key Terms

• Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) — An EU law requiring large companies, and indirectly their suppliers, to report on environmental and social impacts.
• Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard for SMEs (VSME) — A simplified, voluntary framework that helps SMEs report sustainability information in line with what banks and clients may request.
• Basic Module — The minimum reporting set in the VSME, covering essentials like energy use, emissions, biodiversity, and workforce data.
• Biodiversity-sensitive area — A location legally recognised as needing special protection (e.g. Natura 2000 sites, UNESCO World Heritage sites, or Key Biodiversity Areas).