
ESG AMBITION AWARD
Belfius ESG Ambition Award
Sustainability is not just a trend—it’s the future. That’s why we’re looking for inspiring companies and organizations that don’t just embrace sustainability but make it tangible. Whether it’s through innovative solutions, smart business optimizations, or groundbreaking ways to tackle sustainability challenges—your efforts deserve recognition!
With the ESG Ambition Award, we celebrate the most impactful and inspiring initiatives where sustainability is integrated into strategy, processes, or company culture. We don’t just focus on large-scale projects—we also value how teams and departments collaborate to drive meaningful and lasting change.
Who Can Participate?
Any organization or company with a strong sustainability vision that can demonstrate how they bring it to life within their own operations. From circular economy practices to energy efficiency, from social impact to innovative reporting—any initiative that enhances your organization’s sustainability efforts is a solid foundation for participation.
Why Participate?
- Gain recognition for your commitment and impact
- Inspire others with your best practices
- Increase your visibility as a sustainability leader
- Get evaluated by a professional jury and compete for the prestigious award
Ready to Share Your Sustainability Story?
Show how your organization is making a difference! Contact us to discuss your application and download the template to prepare your submission.
1. Convince yourself.
You have made great strides in your company's sustainability journey. Time to showcase the results and your ambition.
2. You consult with your team.
You inform your people involved in the sustainability journey about your plans and that will evoke strong responses. No wonder. This is quite a compliment you are lavishing on them. The atmosphere in the group is bound to skyrocket. And that will boost productivity.
3. You say yes.
You quickly take action – after all, nothing ever brings you to a stop – and submit your candicacy for the ESG Ambition Award in writing (by e-mail, of course!). Any questions left that you would rather ask in person than in an e-mail? Call Peter De Roeck at 0498 16 02 45 and he will bring you the clarity you need.
4. Take a look at your calendar.
Three dates are important:
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April 10th 2025: Deadline for providing us with all the info
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April 24TH 2025: Meet the jury in Brussels.
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May 15th 2025: Award ceremony with evening programme.
5. Brainstorming within your team.
Schedule some time to figure out with your team which elements you certainly want to feature in the candidacy.
Your candidacy in 9 steps
6. Creating your portfolio.
We will help you prepare your portfolio to support your candidacy. We’ll start with a clear template where you can add the main points in bullet form. Once ready, contact our editorial team for an informative and interactive (digital) meeting where you can provide more details orally and answer any questions from our team. Our editor will incorporate this additional information into your document and send it back to you. Review the document carefully, make any necessary corrections or additions, and feel free to attach any extra documents. Together, we’ll ensure that everything is finalized and in our possession by April 10, 2025, at the latest. We will then forward your portfolio to the jury members.
7. Meet the jury.
The members of the jury will expect you and/or (delegates from) your team in Brussels for an informative meeting. You will have no more than 7 slides. You will have half an hour to emphasise certain aspects of your case and to address questions from the jury.
8. Fingers crossed from now on.
Possibly, a photographer and/or video team might stop by at your office. The tension is building.
9. Awardcermony.
May 15th. Le moment suprême. A true joy for finance professionals, an audience of 1000, good food, a unique guest speaker. An evening to remember. There is a genuine chance that you and your team will take one of the awards home with you!
Your portfolio
Our editorial team is here to make the creation of your portfolio as smooth and efficient as possible. While your input is crucial, we’re committed to keeping your efforts and time to a minimum.
Here are the steps to complete your dossier:
Complete the Template
To get started, we’ll send you a template as a guide to structure your story. There’s no need for elaborate writing concise sentences and bullet points are all we need to understand the case and its framework.
Collaborative Interview
Once we’ve received your initial document, we’ll schedule a digital interview to review, clarify, and supplement the content. This will ensure that your dossier is organized, thorough, and clear for the jury members.
Review and Finalize
After we make additions, we’ll send the draft back to you for final approval. Adjust and expand as needed, this is your portfolio. Once we receive the finalized document, we will pass it on to the jury. They’ll review it in advance, allowing you to dive directly into the key points during your presentation.
The deadline to submit your final dossier to us is April 15th, 2025.
The jurymeeting
The jury has the noble task of screening all participating cases and to evaluate them based on a number of criteria. The jury will read a written report on the case in advance (see hereafter). However, the participating teams will also present their case to the jury in person, with ample opportunity to provide additional information. The meeting will take place on Thursday April 24th 2025 in Brussels.
The deliberations of the jury are secret and the winners will only be announced at the award ceremony on Thursday May 15th 2025.
Meet the jury
We invite all teams to illustrate their candidacy to the full jury on Thursday April 24th 2024. This meeting will take place in Brussels. Taking everyone’s busy calendars into account, we will schedule time slots of exactly 30 minutes:
• No more than 10 minutes ex cathedra explanation (using up to 7 slides).
• No more than 20 minutes for questions and answers.
Composition of the jury
The jury’s composition is broad and balanced so that all possible considerations and viewpoints will be part of the evaluation of all cases. The broad support for a decision guarantees that the right selection is made and this adds considerable value to the award. The diversity of the jury safeguards the independence and objectivity of the decision.
Commitments
Overview deadlines
Decision to participate
AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
Submission of completed portfolio
15 APRIL 2025
Submission of your presentation slides jurymeeting
22 APRIL 2025
Jurymeeting
24 APRIL 2025
Award Ceremony
15 MAY 2025
• You will fill in the template and you will free up some time to help our editors compile your portfolio. In practice, that translates into 1 hour for an interview
• You will read the portfolio, correct it, adapt it. The deadline for returning it is: April 15.
• You and your people are prepared to happily say cheese when our photographer asks you to. We will make a short film or animation about your company and your team. You are delighted to cooperate in this effort.
• Your portfolio will not be published, but a one-page summary will be. You will read it and check it before we publish.
• You will step up for a lively conversation with our jury on April 24.
• On May 15th, we will announce the winners during the festive award ceremony (see hereafter), but we hope your full team will be present.
• Your team was honoured with an award? Fantastic! Our editors will have exclusivity, as specialised publication medium, for an in-depth interview with you.
• A true winner will happily cooperate to announce his win to other media, to the extent this is appropriate (newspapers, radio, TV, social media, etc.).
Your presence at the award ceremony
The award ceremony is currently still part of the larger event, where the awards for the Best Finance Team of the Year are also presented. Of course your sustainability team and candidacy are central to the organization and so we hope that you and the whole team will be present at the event.
We want to arrange this as follows:
You represent the team and candidacy: of course you are our guest. The team will join you? Of course, we like that. The fee per person is 250 euro, or we you a company table for 10 participants at the price of 1875 euro (excl VAT)



