Do you speak sustainable?
Economic transition, sustainable transformation, participative governance: that's a lot of neologisms to remember if you are not in the business. But signing up for this approach also guarantees your company a host of privileges... ... Since April 2024, companies recognised as exemplary in environmental and/or social terms can receive an increase in economic aid of up to 45%! So we have put together a little lexicon to help you become a sustainable expert.
In 2030, all of the Region's economic support and tools will be redirected to focus on companies that have chosen to demonstrate exemplary environmental and social behaviour. The introduction to sustainable transformation starts now.
The economic transition
The Economic Transition is the gradual transformation of economic activities in Brussels, to tackle current and future social and environmental challenges and encourage the creation - and maintenance - of quality jobs. It paves the way for a prosperous, local, sustainable and resilient economy that is less dependent on the outside world and international shocks.
What about the Shifting Economy? This is the name given to the strategy for setting up this transition for the Brussels Capital Region. In concrete terms, it is broken down into an action plan comprising over 200 measures!
The ESG criteria
The ESG pillars are criteria used to measure a company's sustainability (in addition to the usual financial criteria). They investigate the environmental (climate, energy, mobility, logistics, etc.), social (gender equality & equal opportunities, diversity, employment, well-being at work, etc.) and governance (certification, sustainable development goals, fair trade, etc.) dimensions of your business.
You will also find them in all international corporate sustainability reporting tools, such as the new European CSRD directive. Understanding the ESG pillars means understanding the European corporate sustainability framework.
By integrating these criteria into your overall management, you can:
- boost your company's performance;
- enhance its image, particularly with investors.
hub.brussels has used these criteria to build its free sustainable transformation tool.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
The Sustainable Development Goals are a call to action from the United Nations to all member countries to promote economic prosperity while protecting the planet and ensure that humans evolve in peace and prosperity, by 2030. The Brussels Region has used these 17 objectives as the basis for its strategy and to define its objectives in terms of the Economic Transition. Because it's all very well to dream, but it's even better to act. You can do this directly within your company by aligning with one or more of the SDGs: meeting basic human needs, ensuring environmental protection while combating climate change, etc.
What about your company?
- To tackle poverty: develop specific products or services for the most vulnerable (e.g. the rental of certain goods rather than their purchase).
- To protect health: innovate to make your products and services safe and healthy for users and the environment, in particular by avoiding products classified as carcinogenic or toxic.
- To ensure decent work: pay your taxes with a clear conscience, i.e. where productive activities take place
- To reduce energy waste: develop products with very low energy consumption, make your customers aware of ways to limit the energy consumption of the products they buy, offer maintenance contracts enabling them to make adjustments in terms of energy consumption, etc.
The circular economy
The circular economy is an economic system that, as its name suggests, aims to close the sustainability loop. Circular models increase resource efficiency and reduce the environmental impact. This can be achieved through the intelligent design of products and services or the reuse of resources already present in the economy. Or through the shared use of resources.
In practical terms, how can you implement this in your company?
- through the use of recycled/reused/repaired/remanufactured materials;
- by sharing orders/tools/spaces/parking/offices etc. with another company or with the public;
- by designing products that are easy to disassemble and repair;
- by upcycling (transforming waste into new resources).
Social inclusion
Social inclusion means fully integrating people as individuals into your company, taking into account their specific needs. A diversity policy within a company enables it to reflect the diversity that exists within society: gender, sex, ethnic origin, disabilities, etc.
This inclusion is accompanied by measures to ensure the well-being of these staff members within your company. The aim is to enable these people to participate fully in the life of the company in a calm atmosphere, and not find themselves isolated. This creates a win-win situation for both your staff and your company!
What about your company?
Choose to make your company's diversity an asset and draw up a diversity plan.
- Make your offices more accessible to people with physical disabilities;
- Use inclusive writing in your internal communications;
- Propose a multicultural working group to check that there is no discrimination in your internal processes;
- Encourage parental leave for both men and women.
If properly managed, promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace has many benefits! Find out more in this article.
Participatory governance
Participatory governance means involving everyone working on a project in the decision-making process. This includes company staff, suppliers, volunteers, customers and beneficiaries.
It also means ensuring total transparency between these stakeholders, so that they understand the decisions taken and can also take part in voting on them. This model contributes to the quality of decision-making and the improvement of an organisation's performance. As long as it is well organised...
What about your company?
- Diversification of the composition of members of your Management Committee/Board of Directors/Executive Committee to include people other than founders and shareholders;
- Appointment of an internal prevention advisor/trusted support person, anonymous feedback from employees to managers;
- Transparent publication of official documents: list of Board of Directors members, organisation chart, etc.;
- Creation of specific consultation appointments relating to development strategy, validation of annual accounts and activity report, staff management policy, etc
Ecomanagement
Eco-management or environmental management consists in integrating the environment into the day-to-day management of an organization through a set of best practices. In the Brussels region, eco-management can be rewarded with the Entreprise Ecodynamique label.
What does this mean for your company?
Find out about good environmental practices and put them into practice. Here are a few examples of best practices:
- Choose second-hand, re-used or labelled furniture to furnish your office or shop.
- Go further in sorting your waste by, for example, having your organic waste recycled for methanization by a specialized operator.
- Use reusable glasses and cups, both for your visitors and your staff
- Use natural, biodegradable cleaning products to clean your workspaces
- Reimburse the full cost of public transport for your staff
Ecodesign
Ecodesign aims to consider the environmental impact of a product or service right from the design stage. Vade retro satanas, programmed obsolescence! We plan to improve the technical characteristics of our products, facilitating preventive maintenance, repair and, ultimately, recycling.
The ecodesign of services (e.g. a cleaning service) aims to put in place good environmental practices for each aspect of the service: choosing environmentally friendly products, using bicycles for travel, etc.
What about your company?
- Choose modular design/dismantlability of your products or services;
- Select interchangeable parts to fit standard tools;
- Make maintenance and repair service easy;
- Deliver environmentally responsible services.
Greenwashing and socialwashing
Greenwashing is a way of presenting a brand image as more responsible, ethical and ecological than it actually is. This practice is now prohibited by law, as it contributes to consumer misinformation. Examples include fast-fashion brands that talk about "environmentally responsible" ranges, or beverage companies that claim to use recyclable products for their containers when in fact they do not.
It should be noted that companies can sometimes be found to be greenwashing, even though they have good intentions. Here are a few tips to avoid inadvertent greenwashing or social washing...
What about your company?
- Explain exactly what is eco-friendly about your product or service: don't use vague terms like "ecological", "natural", "green", "circular", "diversity", etc. Example: a jeans; manufacturer explains that a new production process enables it to use 37% less water than before. That is more precise than saying, "These jeans are eco-friendly";
- Back up your environmental and social promises with figures. Only use recent figures that can be verified. If possible, include credible third-party certifications;
- Paint the full picture: Is only one of your products or services sustainable? In this case, you can't claim that your entire company is sustainable. Are you planning to become (even more) sustainable in the future? Make sure you specify that you're talking about future projects, and be specific about your objectives and deadlines;
- Ensure that the images in advertising and on packaging are not deceptive: don't use the colour green or images of nature to imply that your products or brand are environmentally friendly if they're not.
Energy sobriety
Sobriety refers to the voluntary and organised reduction in the amount of energy used in all company activities. Beyond this reduction, it impacts usage and implies a change in individual and collective behaviour.
It aims to reduce demand and thus pressure on renewable resources.
What about your company?
- Carrying out an energy diagnosis and implement measures to reduce consumption;
- Use of organically sourced materials for better insulation (clay, cork, etc.);
- Supply contract agreeing to 100% green electricity;
- Installation of photovoltaic panels with storage or sharing of the electricity produced.
Okay, great! Where do I start?
To move forward, you sometimes have to take a step back. Our teams would like you to take a quick look in the rear-view mirror to see where your company stands regarding economic transition.
Our sustainable transformation calculation tool provides a set of recommendations that are tailored to your company's specific situation after you've answered around 20 multiple-choice questions. The tool is easily accessible and user-friendly. It also directs you to a range of useful links that can help you take full advantage of this approach, such as grants you are entitled to, free training and coaching to help you progress further. Are you ready to make the shift?
Who can help me ?
