VS+
Non-financial reporting designed for strategic and sovereign industries
VS+ is the proprietary extension of the Voluntary Standard developed by Ascend. Built on the common VS foundation, it adds 30 non-financial indicators tailored to the realities of critical industries and industrial territories: supply dependencies, geopolitical risks, value chain resilience, and contribution to territorial objectives.
A unique framework at the intersection of sustainability and sovereignty.
Why traditional ESG standards are not enough for strategic industries
Traditional ESG standards were designed to measure the non-financial performance of individual companies. They do not capture what truly matters for a critical industry: securing supplies, resilience to geopolitical shocks, dependence on non-European suppliers, and the preservation of rare skills in a given territory.
In a context where industrial sovereignty has once again become a national strategic priority — defense, energy, semiconductors, health, space — companies need a common language to assess their robustness. This is the purpose of VS+.
VS+ in Harnest: Drive sustainability and resilience on a single platform
Harnest is the first platform to natively integrate VS+. The VS core and the 30 VS+ indicators are managed together, with sovereign AI (Mistral), sovereign cloud hosting, and dashboards tailored to the challenges of strategic industries.
Critical Dependency Mapping
Map your dependencies on non-European suppliers, your energy exposures, and your geopolitical risks. Identify your vulnerabilities before they lead to disruptions.
Industrial Resilience Dashboards
Visualize the resilience of your industry or territory across the 30 VS+ indicators. Compare, track progress, and demonstrate your alignment with the requirements of your strategic public or private clients.
Sovereign AI and Confidential Cloud
Harnest uses sovereign AI based on Mistral and sovereign cloud hosting. Your strategic data remains confidential — a non-negotiable requirement for players in the Defense Industrial and Technological Base (BITD) and sensitive industries.
VS+ becomes the common language among businesses, territories, banks, and insurers to assess the robustness and sustainability of a sector within a given scope.
Sustainability and Sovereignty: Two Imperatives, One Platform
Companies in strategic industries do not have to choose between ESG performance and industrial resilience.
VS+ reconciles the two.
Harnest allows you to generate your standard VS report for your financial partners and your VS+ report for your strategic clients — without double entry and with the confidentiality your activities require.