About the award
Who became Sustainability Professional 2022?
In this sixth edition, two professionals were awarded:
Nele Van Damme,
Co-CEO van Upgrade Estate
is the Dutch-speaking Sustainability Professional 2022.
Bruno Van Steenberghe,
Managing director van Kalani-Home
is the French-speaking Sustainability Professional 2022.
These finalists became Sustainability Ambassador :
Sustainability Pioneers 2022
For each language group we also looked for Sustainability Pioneers 2022: starters in the field of Sustainability who have realized a strong, inspirational project or best practice during the past year.
These titles were awarded to:
An evolution from CSR to Sustainability
In today’s corporate world, sustainability has become increasingly common talking-point. This only makes sense since the enterprise of the future must be sustainable if it wants to continue on. After all, sustainability is no longer an option, but a necessity if you want to be able to grow in this ever-changing world. In fact, a modern way of entrepreneurship, one with respect for human and planet, is what it is all about.
On top of that, sustainability is not a clearly defined concept. It is a constantly evolving term. It is a way of living, of working, and continuously looking towards the future to help build a better and healthier society and world as efficiently as possible.
Evidently, companies with a sustainability-plan are better able to contribute to the realisation of the UN’s Sustainability Development Goals, a.k.a. the SDGs.
That is why from now on, we will elect the Sustainability Professional of the Year!
The timeline looked like this:
Start of nominations
End of nominations
All nominees submit their dossier.
Selection by core committee
The core committee of the jury makes a first selection of candidates.
Selection by jury
On the basis of the dossiers, the jury decides which candidates are invited to the jury defence.
Pre-selection results
The candidates are notified of the results of the pre-selection.
Presentation in front of the jury
The top 5 of each category presents its dossier in front of the jury. The jury reduces each top 5 to a top 3. The jury’s vote counts for 60% of the total points. The jury also determines who qualifies for the title of Sustainability Pioneer 2022.
Online voting round
This voting round runs through Trends/Tendances magazine, among others. Votes are good for 20% of total votes.

Event night
The winners will be announced at the Sustainability Professional event. The total votes of the public present at the event are worth 20% of the final vote.
What is Time4Society?
Time4Society provides a link between the profit sector on the one hand and the social profit and non-profit sector on the other hand. It’s Time4Society’s mission to facilitate corporate engagement. This is realized through socially valuable projects, Sustainability-advice, Sustainability-coaching, and by sharing innovation and expertise in the field of Sustainability.
What is VBO FEB?
As the leading voice of the Belgian professional world, it is VBO FEB’s goal to achieve an optimal climate for entrepreneurs in Belgian. We represent more than 50 thousand enterprises in more than 50 sectors. A strong economy leads to sustainable progress that forms the basis for more welfare for everyone. Economic and societal interests are not only complementary but also connected. That is how we create value for everyone.