The Sustainability Professionals 2023
have been elected!
The Sustainability Professional 2023 plays a strategic and indispensable role within their company or organisation as someone who motivates, inspires or implements sustainability. This person’s job title can range from sustainability manager to CEO, HR manager, marketer, project leader, event manager, etc.
In addition, we honour the the Sustainability Pioneer 2023: a starter in the field of Sustainability, who has realized a strong, inspirational project or best practice during the past year. This title will also go to one Dutch-speaking and one French-speaking candidate.
The Sustainability Professionals 2023 were …
In the Dutch-speaking category:
Jasmien Wynants,
Sustainability Manager, XANDRES
The jury awards Jasmien Wynants because she has one goal in all her doings: to make the fashion world more sustainable. She does this through inspiring trainings, motivating talks, enthusiastic workshops and thorough advice. She writes articles for trade magazines, and this year, she will even publish a children’s book on sustainable fashion.
On top of that, Jasmien Wynants is Sustainability Manager three days a week for Belgian fashion brand Xandres, where in 2022 she focused on ’employee engagement’. While doing so, she developed an accessible training course on sustainable fashion. Within Xandres, a material matrix was also developed to buy more and more ‘low-impact’ materials for the collections. For Jasmien Wynants, the absolute highlight was the ‘Green Friday’ day in November 2022, where, on Black Friday (the high mass of overconsumption), Xandres organised, among other things, repair actions to extend the lifespan of clothing in all the shops and on the web shop.
Jasmien Wynants: “Above all, I am very grateful: for the opportunities I am given at Xandres, for my colleagues and for what we have achieved together in the past year in the field of sustainability. Because I am certainly not alone in this story! I am very happy with this award. Both big and small victories should be celebrated. This recognition also contributes to the visibility of sustainability in the fashion sector, something we will continue to work on in the future.”
In the French-speaking category:
Isabelle De Bruyne,
Chief Sustainability Officer, CFE
It is important to note that Isabelle De Bruyne is part of the executive committee and can co-decide from a sustainability perspective. What is very remarkable, is that she has made CFE a company with a sustainable mission: change for good. CFE is a company active in Belgium, Luxembourg and Poland, specialising in sustainable construction, real estate and multi-tech.
Isabelle De Bruyne has structured CFE’s sustainability, defined priorities, quantified objectives, structured reporting, management and quality KPIs. All this in an exceptional and exemplary manner. And with effect, because CFE’s subsidiaries are actively working on sustainability and this term has become part of CFE’s DNA. This can be seen in the ZIN, Usquare and Wooden projects, but above all in the commitment of the employees.
What is missing today, according to Isabelle de Bruyne, is a lever to accelerate things by getting the whole sector moving. This is why Isabelle is so passionate about representing entrepreneurs in the BA4SC. This unique initiative brings together all the players in the construction sector with the aim of changing the sector and making it sustainable.
Isabelle De Bruyne: “I am really happy to win this award! I thank CFE and all my colleagues for their trust! It is through good partnerships that we create sustainable value and honour our credo: Changing for good. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the two Sustainability Ambassadors, because what they do is just as important.”
The Sustainability Pioneers 2023 were …
In the Dutch-speaking category:
Greet Goegebuer & Mark Vandevelde,
Founders, Komrads
In 2019 – after more than 3 years of research – they launched the first sustainable sneaker via Komrads: the APL sneaker. It was made from only recycled and reused materials, such as recycled rubber and cotton, and even more noteworthy, from appleskin, a vegan alternative to animal leather. Worn sneakers can be returned to Komrads, where they are shredded to make a new raw material/product.
In the French-speaking category:
Raoul Nihart,
CEO, Luminus Solutions
Raoul has put in place a transformation plan aimed at actively positioning itself in several decarbonisation segments, in particular via Energy Performance Contracts.
Monica Santalena,
co-fondatrice et directrice, 100 000 Entrepreneurs
She organises volunteer entrepreneurs in secondary and higher education in Brussels and Wallonia in order to pass on the entrepreneurial spirit through education: sustainable entrepreneurship, circular economy, STEM and in March 2022 STEAM (A= Arts). This initiative mobilises the largest number of female witnesses.
On Thursday the 16th of February 2023, we organized the eighth Sustainability Professional 2023 event.
View the photos of this exciting evening here.
Yes, you read that correctly. We changed our awards’ titles.Two years ago, we elected the CSR Professional of the Year and the CSR Pioneer of the Year. This year, however, we will elect the Sustainability Professional of the Year and the Sustainability Pioneer of the Year. We do this because we believe that these new terms are an even better representation of what the award stands for.
In other, rather big news, the awards will be organised by both Time4Society and VBO FEB, the federation of Belgian entrepreneurs. This results in a meaningful value increase for both companies and organisations.
Pieter Timmermans,
CEO VBO FEB
“We will gladly support this event for years to come. It is an important event for the world of business because we need to inspire and support positive and sustainable entrepreneurship.”
Nathalie Bekx,
CEO Time4Society:
“These awards are proof that there is an increasing number of companies and organisations that choose sustainability. Not only that, they also want to learn from one another and cooperate with each other.”
These are the winners of the previous editions:
CSR Professional of the Year 2019
Dutch-speaking category:
Caroline Pauwels, rector Vrije Universiteit Brussel
“Our university teaches our youth the values of social responsibility. The next generations will take good care of our planet – of that I am sure. If we focus on positive things, we can achieve so much together.”
CSR Professional of the Year 2019
French-speaking category:
Nicolas Declercq, founder Brasserie Leopold 7
“I dream that in 50 years’ time, my children will say: my father was a pioneer. Beer is a valued product and people associate it with passion. My passion for beer production goes hand in hand with a great number of values. To me, that’s very important.”
CSR Professional of the Year 2018
Dutch-speaking category:
Ann Claes, Chief Buying Officer, JBC
“I am very happy with this award, which actually belongs to our entire team. We have been working hard on more sustainability over the past few years. One example we are very proud of, is that we are now selling 100% recycled jeans at JBC. This award is a nice recognition for the route we have taken.”
CSR Professional of the Year 2018
French-speaking category:
Pascal Léglise, CSR Director, Carrefour Belgium
“Together with my team, I have been working for more than 10 years on the road to more sustainable entrepreneurship in retail. And today we are reaping the benefits, together with the local producers that we support though Act for Food. This award is a great recognition of our work!”
CSR Professional of the Year 2017
category large enterprise:
Eric de Deckere, Senior Technical Manager Sustainable Transition, Port of Antwerp
“Winning this award is a recognition of the trajectory we have followed so far. In 2010 and 2011 we started reporting on sustainability. This eventually resulted in concrete actions. Right now we are in the midst of a transition. Reporting is still one of our core practices, but now we are doing so much more. This prize is a reward for all our hard work, for the team and for the companies that are involved in the harbour community and are willing to undertake steps with the aim of becoming more sustainable.”
CSR Professional of the Year 2017
category SME:
Philip Van Kelst, founder & CEO, Kasteelhoeve Wange
“This prize is nice reward! Since the foundation of Kasteelhoeve Wange we have been making a lot of CSR efforts in order to become sustainable. It was a fundamental choice, also out of financial considerations. It has been a lonely and frightful way at times, but along the way we have gathered a whole community, which I find very fulfilling. People believe in us, they connect with us. This award is the icing on the cake!”
CSR Professional of the Year 2016
category large enterprise:
Ann Vandenhende, CSR Manager Spadel
“This award is a recognition for the entire Spadel team. My CEO, Marc Du Bois, deserves praise and a ‘thank you’ as well. In the field of CSR he’s at least as passionate as I am. Without his enthusiasm, I wouldn’t have been able to do the work I’m doing today. And I’ll keep on doing my job with loads of enthusiasm!”
CSR Professional of the Year 2020
Dutch-speaking category:
Philippe Weiler, Head of Sustainability Lidl Belgium
“I am very happy with this recognition. We and two other organisations stood together in the finals. Each of us bring CSR alive in their own way. But all with the same goal, which is to be a part of that transition.”
CSR Professional of the Year 2020
French-speaking category:
Salvatore Iannello, CEO La Chocolaterie Galler
“This is an emotional moment. When the project of one man becomes that of a team and then of a whole cooperating company, it is magical. This title is not mine but the whole company’s!”
Sustainability Professional 2022
Dutch-speaking category:
Nele Van Damme, Co-CEO of Upgrade Estate
“I am so glad I can add this award to my achievements. The tension had me shaking at the knees. The other finalists were, of course, also deserving. This recognition is intensely valuable to me, my co-CEO, and all our employees who help us translate our core values to concrete and sustainable actions. This award boosts our motivation and confirms that we are doing the right thing. How do I see my role as Sustainability Professional? I want to inspire others and emphasize that small steps also make a difference. If you use an underlying long-term plan, things will eventually go according to that plan.”
Sustainability Professional 2022
French-speaking category:
Bruno Van Steenberghe, Managing director of Kalani-Home
“I am happy, surprised, and thankful to have won this award. This is a tremendous recognition not only for myself but for our entire team. The other finalists were real heavy hitters. We live in an age in which sustainability will become crucial. As Sustainability Professional 2022, I want to be a worthy ambassador. It would be amazing if I could inspire others to have a positive impact. I want to thank everyone that has supported me: my friends, my family, the members of the jury, our customers, and everyone who voted for me. And of course, who could forget the anonymous person who nominated me in the first place (laughs)?”
CSR Professional of the Year 2016
category SME:
Joost Callens, CEO Durabrik
“I’m blown away a bit. I want to dedicate this award to my team and I want to thank them for their hard work. In the words of Toon Hermans: ‘There have to be people that ignite suns, before the world rains away’. I’m happy that I can make a contribution.”
CSR Professional of the Year 2015:
Michel Croisé, president Sodexo Benelux
“This award is a recognition for the whole team of Sodexo. It is a pleasure to motivate people who are already motivated. But the most important thing is that we all take steps towards a better society.”