26 januari 2021
In the 4 other categories, this year's Awards were won by the Service Public de Wallonie (best first sustainability report), Stad Gent, Luminus, KBC (for organizations pioneering in the application of the Sustainable Development Goals, Luminus (category 'Best Stakeholders Inclusiveness and Engagement') and Lidl Belgium (category ‘creativity and originality’).
The Institute of Registered Auditors (IBR-IRE) celebrates this year the 20th edition of the Awards for Best Belgian Sustainability Reports. Due to Corona restrictions, the ceremony was streamed live for the first time from Brussels Expo and was followed by some 350 interested parties who were also allowed to vote in the 'best impact' category.
This year 51 organisations submitted a report (45 in 2018, 49 in 2016): 28 large organisations, 7 SMEs and 16 other organisations. The Jury used evaluation criteria based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards. The criteria also include reference to the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations and integrates disclosure domains of the Belgian legal requirements of law of 3 September 2017 on non-financial information.
The Jury was made up of 25 representatives of the academic world, economic actors, representatives of the social profit world and the public sector, as well as journalists and registered auditors. Since a few years, the winners of the previous editions have also accepted to participate in the Jury for the next edition and have all mentioned the enriching formula of such a process in term of mutual sharing of experiences.
Service Public de Wallonie: Best First Sustainability Report
The Jury appreciated the very clear and transparent report of the Service Public de Wallonie (SPW). The consultation of all stakeholders, the detailed materiality process, the use of GRI with details on social aspects were also welcomed.
Stad Gent: Best Pioneering initiative relating to SDG 2030 Agenda – other organisations
In the category ‘Other organizations’, the report of City of Ghent has been selected by the Jury because although this first report is not a real sustainability report, it is a good example to start mapping out the agenda 2030 as it is quite exhaustive on the matter.
KBC: Best Pioneering initiative relating to SDG 2030 Agenda – large organisations
In the category ‘Large organizations’, the report of KBC has been selected by the Jury because it addresses all SDG’s with a special focus on some SDG’s, which are highlighted throughout the report. SDG’s are used to create KBC’s sustainability strategy and the materiality assessment has been conducted based on the SDG’s.
Luminus: Best Pioneering initiative relating to SDG 2010 Agenda-SMEs, Best Stakeholders Inclusiveness and Engagement and Best Impact-SMEs
In the category SMEs, the Jury rewarded the report of Luminus as it is built on the SDG’s. Relevant SDG's are indeed identified at the beginning of the report with related objectives and the materiality matrix is based on these objectives that are based on SDG's.
The report of Luminus has also been selected by the Jury for its “Best Stakeholders Inclusiveness and Engagement” as the stakeholders’ dialogue is also evolving. The implication of stakeholders is linked to SDG and Luminus explains how they consult them. The key results of the consultation are highlighted and used in the report.
Luminus has also been selected as ‘Best Impact Sustainability Report’ in SMEs’ category as this report really stands out in this category. The Jury appreciated this balanced report with enough attention to challenges the company is facing and justification of choices; ample attention to context and market trends, as well as stakeholder dialogue as mentioned above. It also contains a comparison over 3 years. It is very well presented and interesting to read. Some topics are submitted to external verification and the report is GRI based.
Lidl Belgium: Best Creativity & Originality
The report of Lidl Belgium has been selected by the Jury for its “Best Creativity & Originality”. The Jury appreciated the nice lay-out of this short report, focused on targets and realisations. It is a good balance between a short size report at one hand and completeness at the other hand. Progress are compared to target. It is easy to read, transparent and honest.
The Best Impact Sustainability Report Awards in the large and other organisations
was rewarded by public vote. In these two categories, Lidl Belgium and Antwerp Management School won, respectivel:
-Large organisations: Lidl Belgium
The Jury appreciated the short and well-structured report of Lidl Belgium, with a nice lay out concerning targets and realisations and a good balance between positive performance and challenges the company is facing. It is also nice that the structure of the report follows the value chain. It has a good materiality and has been reviewed by external auditors. It is GRI based. There is a clear and strong link with SDG and targets.
-Other organisations: Antwerp Management School
The Jury appreciated the very clear, honest and transparent first report of Antwerp Management School, with an elaborated and well-presented matrix linked to SDGs, balanced information and a clear GRI overview.
“The ongoing participation in the Awards for Best Belgian Sustainability Reports proves that sustainable development is increasingly part of an organization's business strategy. Moreover, upcoming regulatory initiatives will further increase the scope and level of sustainability reporting going forward” says Marc Daelman, president of the Jury. The organizations participating in the Awards are already prepared for the new regulatory requirements in view of reporting of non-financial information or for increasing expectations from financial institutions or investors.
The Jury would like to stress once again the growing development of integrated or combined reporting and is very proud that some Belgian entities are increasingly moving towards integrated reporting. The Jury congratulates them in particular on their efforts in this respect.
Download the full report: Trends & remarkable reports of the edition 2020: Jury report 2020 - EN | Sustainability reports