Focus on networking

Strong networks make strong organisations. In this session of the community of practice The System Shift, you will explore how to develop sustainable partnerships and collaborations that boost resilience and lead to greater collective impact.

discover how networks create resilience and long-term value,

get practical tools to strengthen partnerships and achieve collective impact, grounded in the internationally recognised Donut theory,

share your experiences with peers regarding practical challenges and solutions.

Who is this for?

This session is part of the community of practice The System Shift. Participation is exclusively for those registered on the full course.

Are you an ambitious leader who wants to make systemic change through your organisation alongside colleagues from different sectors? Then this community of practice is for you.

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Ownership as key to real change

Luc De Jaeger (Funds For Good) and Peter Depauw (Steward-owned) show how new ownership models link financial profit to social impact.

Mediahuis: media with a mission

What does purpose really mean for a media group? Belgian CEO Koen Verwee shares how Mediahuis is building trust, independent journalism and long-term impact.

Double bill: Climate regulation and emissions measurement

Regulations around compliance are evolving at lightning speed, and without solid data, any climate plan remains guesswork. During this dual session, participants will get the tools to understand the regulatory landscape and reliably measure their organisation’s footprint.

What to expect

Compliance and reliable data are the backbone of any effective decarbonisation strategy.

During this double-bill session, participants will:

get a clear overview of current compliance requirements and learn how to leverage them for action,

discover how to collect, structure and analyse emissions data according to best practice,

share experiences with peers regarding practical challenges and solutions,

explore new ways to effectively engage internal and external stakeholders in the journey to net zero.

Thomas de Groot

Associate Decarbonization at Anthesis

Willem Melis

Country Manager at Anthesis Belgium

Karla Castellanos

Sustainability Consultant at Anthesis

Who is this for?

This session is part of the community of practice Journey to Net Zero. Participation is exclusive to those enrolled in the full programme.

Are you jointly responsible for sustainability within your company and do you want to get to work substantiated net-zero strategy, with help from peers from different sectors? Then this community of practice is for you.

Tell me more

How to make your company water resilient?

09 October 2025

How can organisations adapt to a changing water landscape – and even thrive? Join this session to discover why water matters for your strategy, and how smart partnerships can build real resilience.

Renovating the rental market: up a gear

06 November 2025

Is the rental market ready for energy transition? With this interactive roundtable, we will work together to devise solutions on how to boost rental market renovation. This session, the last of a series of three, focuses on energy efficiency and innovative financing.

Circularity as a lever for emissions reduction

Circularity is much more than reuse, reduce, recycle: it’s a powerful lever to structurally reduce emissions. From the design stage all the way to end-of-life, how can circular approaches strengthen your supply chain and deliver lasting impact? Join peers to take a look at hands-on strategies.

What to expect

Along with rising commodity prices, increasing regulations and market pressures, scope 3 emissions highlight the importance of sustainable choices in your value chain. This workshop highlights how circularity can provide a powerful answer, with real-world insights and active exchange with other professionals.

Participants in this session:

find out how circularity in the value chain contributes to structural emission reduction,

discover how companies are applying circular strategies in their purchasing policies,

share their own experiences and challenges around circular procurement and are inspired by practical examples and insights from others,

go home with practical ideas and tools to strengthen circularity in their value chain.

Emissiereductie door circulaire economie

Who is this for?

This session is part of the Decarbonised Supply Chains community of practice. Participation is exclusively for those registered on the full programme.

Are you the sustainability officer within your company and would you like to take steps towards scope 3 reduction, drawing inspiration from peers across different sectors? Then this community of practice is for you.

Tell me more

Renovating the rental market: up a gear

06 November 2025

Double bill: Climate regulation and emissions measurement

16 October 2025

How to make your company water resilient?

09 October 2025

How can organisations adapt to a changing water landscape – and even thrive? Join this session to discover why water matters for your strategy, and how smart partnerships can build real resilience.

Renovating the rental market: up a gear

Learn more about the challenges of energy transition in Belgium.

Contribute to the search for innovative financing solutions to intensify sustainable and inclusive renovation in Belgium.

Accelerate the energy transition in Belgium.

Programme

This session focuses on the renovation of the rental market. With professionals from different sectors, we will explore key questions surrounding this topic. The goal is to develop practical recommendations that will enable sustainable and inclusive energy renovations for all.

How can motivation and benefits be shared fairly between landlords and tenants?

What impact will this have on the value of less energy-efficient homes?

How can financing be made more accessible?

What is the role of local authorities, social landlords and commercial real estate players?

Who is this for?

Whether you want to share your own insights, acquire useful knowledge or build valuable networks, this series welcomes anyone with an interest in the energy renovation in the Belgian rental market: governments (local, regional & federal), the private sector, companies, academia, and so on.

About LIFE BE FREE

The LIFE BE FREE consortium (The Shift, Embuild, Febelfin, VVSG, Wattson, IDEA Consult) is part of the European LIFE Clean Energy Transition program, an instrument for financing environmental policies. LIFE BE FREE facilitates permanent roundtables on innovative financing solutions to accelerate the energy transition of buildings in Belgium. The project, in partnership with the financial and construction sectors, aims to give everyone access to financing for this transition.

During 2025, LIFE BE FREE will organise a series of three sessions led by experts from the relevant sectors to formulate recommendations to the government on the following themes:

renewal of the rental market

social loans

district renovations

Accelerating neighbourhood renovations

14 October 2025

What is needed to make neighbourhood renovations the norm? Seize this opportunity to help steer the course on faster and easier neighbourhood renovation. This interactive session focuses on actionable recommendations for governments and concludes a three-part series on neighbourhood renovation.

How to make your company water resilient?

09 October 2025

How can organisations adapt to a changing water landscape – and even thrive? Join this session to discover why water matters for your strategy, and how smart partnerships can build real resilience.

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Supply chain on your board’s radar

How do you convince your management to address emissions in your supply chain? This session will help you link Scope 3 action to strategic priorities such as risk, cost efficiency and competitive advantage.

What to expect?

In this session, you will get inspiring practical examples and learn from other participants to increase internal support for action around CO₂ emissions along the entire value chain (Scope 3).

Learn from colleagues from a variety of industries how they link climate action to risk management, cost efficiency and market position.

Compare strategies to get internal stakeholders – from purchasing to management – on board with your Scope 3 story.

Refine your own business case with insights from peers and experienced experts.

For whom?

This session is part of“Decarbonized Supply Chains,” a community of practice on decarbonising your supply chains, and is open only to participants in the full learning track.

Curious about more?

Tell me more

Decarbonised Supply Chains

On average, supply chain emissions are more than 11 times higher than a company’s direct emissions. In other words, Scope 3 plays a key role in any decarbonisation journey. In this community of practice, you will exchange with peers and experts on tangible strategies to mobilise suppliers and reduce emissions on a large scale.

Journey to Net Zero

The climate challenge is growing and European regulations are changing rapidly. Organisations need to think ahead and act purposefully. In this community of practice, you join forces with other pioneers. You translate ambitions into effective actions and, supported by a scientific framework, work on a well-founded and future-proof net zero strategy.

How to make your company water resilient?

09 October 2025

How can organisations adapt to a changing water landscape – and even thrive? Join this session to discover why water matters for your strategy, and how smart partnerships can build real resilience.

Embedding biodiversity in policy

Align your biodiversity strategy with international standards and explore how to embed nature in governance and policy.

We will work together to create a nature strategy tailored to your organisation: you’ll gain useful insights and practical advice.

You’ll form part of a supportive discussion group where experiences are easily shared.

You’ll stay up to date on all the latest developments, in line with the global campaign It’s Now for Nature.

Programme

In the seventh session of this community of practice, we will once again work on the ‘Transform‘ theme of the ACT-D framework. Specifically, we will be thinking about the following questions:

How do your efforts to influence policy align with the ambition and goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework?

How do you ensure that nature has a permanent place in the governance of your organisation?

Who is this for?

This session is part of The Biodiversity Shift, a community of practice for organisations seeking to put nature restoration and conservation front and centre in their business agenda and core operations. It is only open to those who have signed up to the full community of practice.

Still curious?

Find out more

Build your Biodiversity Strategy

Biodiversity is disappearing, and you can feel it: higher risks, scarce resources, less resilience. More and more Belgian companies are turning the tide by investing in nature to avoid loss and create value. In this community of practice, you will work with fellow companies and biodiversity experts to put biodiversity on your corporate agenda – right at the heart of your activities – and build a strategy that drives real, structured progress.

Nature positive finance

22 September 2025

Nature is indispensable but underfunded. Find out how we are addressing this through smart collaborations and conclude with the inspiring film screening of Wilding.

How to make your company water resilient?

09 October 2025

How can organisations adapt to a changing water landscape – and even thrive? Join this session to discover why water matters for your strategy, and how smart partnerships can build real resilience.

Accelerating neighbourhood renovations

What to expect?

Over the course of 2025, the LIFE BE FREE consortium (The Shift, Embuild, Febelfin, VVSG, Wattson & IDEA Consult), in collaboration with partners from across the energy sector, is organising a series of sessions aimed at formulating recommendations for governments around three themes:

Renovation of properties in the rental market
Social loans to fund renovation
Renovation by district

Learn more about the challenges of energy transition in Belgium.

Contribute to the search for innovative financing solutions to accelerate sustainable and inclusive renovation in Belgium.

Help us to move faster on energy innovation in Belgium.

Programme

This session focuses on the ins and outs of neighbourhood renovation. Together with professionals from different sectors, we’ll be discussing the key questions below, all with a view to finding practical solutions that promote sustainable, inclusive and energy-efficient renovations for all.

How can energy renovation projects in a particular area be grouped over a period of time?

Which criteria should be used for this? How do we meet a range of different needs?

How can we simplify complex procedures and the process of gaining access to funding?

What legal structure should be adopted?

How can we deal with market price volatility?

Who is this for?

Whether you want to share your own insights, gain useful knowledge or build valuable networks, this series welcomes anyone with an interest in financing energy innovation in Belgium: governments (local, regional & federal), the private sector, companies, academia, and so on.

Inclusive energy renovations with social loans

16 September 2025

Can social loans accelerate energy-efficient renovations in Belgium? This final session on inclusive energy renovations gives you the chance to learn from experts, explore barriers and contribute to building sustainable housing solutions.

How to make your company water resilient?

09 October 2025

How can organisations adapt to a changing water landscape – and even thrive? Join this session to discover why water matters for your strategy, and how smart partnerships can build real resilience.

Journey to Net Zero

Inner Development Goals: an introduction

How do you grow as a leader in a world full of complexity? In this first session of the learning journey on the Inner Development Goals, you will explore this science-based framework that supports the development of inner skills for sustainable change.

Find out what the Inner Development Goals are, why they matter and how they complement the Sustainable Development Goals.

Explore how inner capacities such as self-awareness, openness and courage contribute to systemic change.

Reflect on your personal and professional challenges in a safe, inspiring environment.

Connect with peers who, like you, believe that the inner journey is the key to creating lasting impact.

Who is this for?

This session is part of “Developing your Inner Skills,” a community of practice around the Inner Development Goals (IDGs), and is open only to participants of the full learning track.

Curious to learn more?

Developing your Inner Skills

Developing your Inner Skills

Sustainability challenges are not just technical or systemic – they are deeply human. To lead with meaning in a complex world, we need inner growth. With this community of practice, you’ll gain the tools, techniques and network to strengthen your inner power to make a difference.

VUB embraces inner growth

What if the green transition starts with leadership from within? The House of Sustainable Transitions connects personal growth and systemic change.

IDG Summit Watch Party | Day 2

16 October 2025

Immerse yourself in the IDG Summit’s Business Deep Dive. Together, we’ll explore how inner growth prepares leaders for real systems impact.

Your first steps to net zero

Ready to take real steps towards net zero? During this session you will meet like-minded people, discover what science-based targets really mean for your organisation, and get a clear picture of where you stand in the journey.

What to expect?

Every tenth of a degree counts in addressing the climate crisis. More and more organisations are looking for a structured and credible methodology toward climate neutrality, but it is not always clear where to start.

Discover how science-based targets can help your organisation get ready for the future and get ahead of future regulations and standards.

Arm yourself with expert insights and tools to develop a realistic and ambitious decarbonisation strategy.

Exchange experiences with colleagues from different sectors and explore how to better engage internal and external stakeholders in this process.

Meet & connect – A brief round of introductions

Intro to SBTi – What is the Science Based Targets initiative, why is it important, how does it work, and how does it relate to other methodologies?

Where is your organisation in the decarbonisation journey? – A moment of reflection on your organisation’s current position and desired next steps toward net zero.

For whom?

This session is part of “Journey to Net Zero,” a community of practice around decarbonisation strategies, and is open only to participants in the full learning journey.

Curious about more?

Journey to Net Zero

How bpost involves suppliers in the climate narrative

A low-carbon supply chain requires cooperation. Lies De Meyer (bpost) shares how data, dialogue and learning from others make a difference.

Velux and ArcelorMittal: partners in circularity

Sabine Pauquay (Velux) and ArcelorMittal show how strong cooperation can dramatically reduce CO₂ emissions in the steel industry.

Inclusive energy renovations with social loans

I subscribe

What to expect?

Over the course of 2025, the LIFE BE FREE consortium (The Shift, Embuild, Febelfin, VVSG, Wattson & IDEA Consult), in collaboration with the energy sector, is organising a series of sessions aimed at formulating recommendations for governments around three themes:

Renovation of the rental market
Social loans
District renovations

Learn more about the challenges of energy transition in Belgium.

Contribute to the search for innovative financing solutions to accelerate sustainable and inclusive renovation in Belgium.

The Programme

This session focuses on social credit loans. Together with professionals from various sectors, we will discuss the key questions below, with an eye toward practical solutions that promote sustainable, inclusive energy renovations for all.

I subscribe

Who are the vulnerable target groups?

How can alternative (micro)financing be structured and under what regulations?

How do you define a government guarantee?

How do you access pre-funding or an energy innovation fund?

What energy savings are possible?

For whom?

Whether you want to share insights, gain useful knowledge or build valuable networks, this series welcomes anyone with an interest in financing energy innovation in Belgium: governments (local, regional & federal), the private sector, companies, academia, etc.

Email address*

Function*

Organisation*

I accept The Shift’s terms and conditions and code of conduct.