De Winning and Vandemoortele are the winners of the Awards Best Belgian Sustainability Reports with best impact

In the four other categories, this year’s Awards were won by:

The Institute of Registered Auditors (IBR-IRE) celebrates this year the 21st edition of the Awards for Best Belgian Sustainability Reports, which reward and encourage organisations to report transparently on sustainability issues by promoting the integration of sustainability information, such as environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, into organisations’ reports.

In November 2022, this pioneering initiative was rewarded with a special nomination in the national category at the ISAR Honours 2022. ISAR is a Standing Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting coordinated by UNCTAD. The ISAR Honours initiative aims to raise awareness and facilitate dissemination of national and international best practices on sustainability and SDG reporting.

Today’s ceremony was followed by some 250 interested parties who were also allowed to vote in the 'best impact' category. The Awards for the four other categories were granted by a professional jury composed of representatives of the academic, economic and social profit world, journalists, as well as registered auditors.

This year 47 organisations submitted a report. The participating organisations are divided between 37 “large companies” that are either listed or have more than 250 employees, and 10 “other organisations” which include “SMEs” that have less than 250 employees and organisations such as NGOs, non-profit organisations, federations, schools or public institutions.

The jury used evaluation criteria that are largely aligned to the GRI Standards and include the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015. Sustainability reports based on national frameworks, Union-based frameworks or international frameworks are also eligible to the Awards. The purpose of this initiative is also to put forward reports on the basis of one particular criterion, not necessarily GRI-based.

TRENDS IN SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING IN BELGIUM – TIME TO ACT!

In its final conclusions the Jury stated that today’s sustainability reporting landscape is getting towards more harmonisation with the initiatives at European and international levels. Upcoming European Directives (CSRD, EU Taxonomy, Due diligence) start to have a real impact on companies, especially on large companies but also indirectly on all SMEs. This is why it is essential to get prepared.

“Almost all companies in Belgium will be impacted by the changes and practices in reporting implied by the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Banks and financial investors will also start looking closer at ESG activities of companies seeking financing. It is therefore high time for SMEs to start integrating ESG in their strategy, governance and reporting”, says Marc Daelman, president of the Jury. “Pressure to change also comes from all over (media, social media, investors, stakeholders), it is time to (start) act(ing)”.

The organisations taking part in the Awards are already preparing for the new regulatory requirements regarding sustainability reporting and for increasing expectations from financial institutions or investors.

The Jury members congratulate all participating entities and encourage them to keep on establishing quality sustainability reports with clear reference to internationally recognized reporting standards.

Soon, sustainability reports will also have to be audited. In his closing speech, the Chairman of the IBR-IRE (Patrick Van Impe) stressed that “given his knowledge of the organisation, his experience of international auditing standards, his independence and the external oversight to which he is subject, the registered auditor is in our view a logical partner to provide assurance on these reports, a statement also shared by the business community”.

Download the full report: Trends & remarkable reports of the 2022 edition.

BEST FIRST SUSTAINABILITY REPORTS

The Jury decided to reward two organisations this year, as their first reports were the best in their respective category (“Large organisations” and “Other organisations”):

The Jury appreciated the report of Schréder being very complete without being too long and its attractive lay-out. The Jury also welcomed the strong materiality assessment and the clear link with the SDGs (including subgoals). The interactions with stakeholders are clearly reported. Governance, risk and ethics are well-described. Long-term and short-term targets are used throughout the report, and compared with actual results /clear measurable targets. The Jury also particularly welcomed the attention for Human Rights-issues in this first sustainability report.

The Jury appreciated this very appealing report of Oxfam Fair Trade with many meaningful summarizing figures. The chosen layout (supplementary text-boxes, infographics and photos) made the report pleasant and easy to understand. The report is well structured, there are clear links with the SDGs, and it provides a very good explanation of the material topics and stakeholder analysis. The link with BCorp was also appreciated.

In the Jury’s eyes, the report of Oxfam Fair Trade is a good example that small organisations can also do sustainability reporting.

BEST SUSTAINABILITY REPORT ON STAKEHOLDER INCLUSIVENESS AND ENGAGEMENT: ELIA

The Jury appreciated the very good stakeholder inclusiveness chapter in the report of Elia. Who the stakeholders are, why they are important, the frequency of communication with them and how they have been involved in the materiality matrix are clearly stated. Direct and indirect stakeholders are involved and the way stakeholders are interwoven is clear throughout the report. The information on stakeholders is directly integrated in the report.

BEST SUSTAINABILITY REPORT IN CREATIVITY & ORIGINALITY: DE WINNING

The jury selected De Winning here because the design of the report matches with its business model. The visuals used are original and the pictures do not come from a standard database, they have been taken in house, representing what the organisation does. It is a pleasant report to read. The technique of the interviews is used to bring the sustainability story to life. The layout and wording throughout the text reflect De Winning’s sustainability strategy. In a word, creativity lies in the way the whole report is constructed.

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT BEST LINKED TO THE 2030 SDGs AGENDA: SCHREDER

Seven years after the adoption of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations, a sound review of the reports from an SDGs perspective seemed relevant. Therefore, this category rewards an organisation which has embedded the SDG’s in its report, on top of the other traditional criteria. The report of Schréder has been selected by the Jury as the Sustainability Report Best Linked to the 2030 SDGs Agenda. The Jury valued the use of SDGs for materiality assessment and the clear links to specific SDGs, also in the strategy. The Jury welcomed the original work on the sub SDGs and how they are relevant. It made the report very concrete.

THE BEST IMPACT SUSTAINABILITY REPORT AWARDS

The Best Impact Sustainability Report Awards in the large and other organisations were given by public vote. In these two categories, De Winning and Vandemoortele won, respectively.

The Jury appreciated this very well structured and pleasant to read report, with a good layout and clear figures. It provides a very clear matrix as well as clear links with targets. The balanced approach with positive contributions and difficulties improves the credibility of the report. The sustainability strategy was presented to stakeholders for external evaluation.

The Jury appreciated this report for its creative layout which reflects De Winning’s sustainability strategy. Negative aspects are also discussed in an honest way which leads to a truthful and honest communication. The report is easy to read and not too long. It succeeds in making the sustainability story clear. The Jury valued that De Winning managed in its report to give the readers the feeling that they know the company even though its industry is not well known. It is a report that reads very smoothly and manages to convey the sustainability story clearly (in a few pages) but with 'tailored' original visuals. The Jury also welcomed the links with the SDGs which are well explained and the fact that there is a lot of (visual) focus on the SDGs.

ORGANISER: Institute of Registered Auditors

Thank you to our supporting organisations: mainly the Federal Institute for Sustainable Development (FIDO –FIDD), who each year help us to promote this event. With the support of: