Sustainability reports for financial year 2025 are coming in thick and fast. For a number of years now, FINN/Gosselin & de Walque has been tracking how Belgium’s largest companies report on their CO₂ emissions and climate ambitions. What do the trends from recent years tell us about what to expect this season?
The context has shifted. The balance is tilting from sustainability to competitiveness. The Omnibus directive is casting doubt on future regulatory pressure. And yet, the ESG movement set in motion years ago is hard to reverse.
Regulation is no longer the driving force behind ESG
Over recent years, a growing share of Belgian companies has climbed into the leading group: quantified CO₂ targets, concrete action plans, references to SBTi. Almost 70% of the companies surveyed were in that category last year.
We see a two-sided evolution. On one hand, a number of financial institutions are withdrawing from SBTi, because strict climate criteria sometimes clash with their social role — providing loans for homes that do not always meet the highest sustainability requirements. On the other hand, more and more companies are making commitments on scope 3, the most challenging of the three scopes, covering emissions at suppliers, customers and other chain partners. Hard targets for 2050 are meanwhile becoming close to standard.
The real driver behind this progress is no longer regulation alone. It is business logic and stakeholder pressure. C-level and boards are deeply involved — making a sudden change of course unlikely.
Industry and real estate push ahead, banks more cautious
In the reports from last year, we saw industrial companies leading the way. They combined ambition with concrete action plans, demonstrating that heavy industrial activity and climate leadership can go hand in hand. Not coincidentally: making processes more sustainable can deliver financial benefits through lower energy costs and more efficient use of raw materials.
ESG reporting has come of age. That is an achievement — but it also raises a question. In a market where almost everyone is in the leading group and reports are starting to look increasingly similar, the challenge shifts. No longer: ‘Are we taking part?’ But rather: ‘Are we still saying something that matters?’
A notable positive surprise in recent years was the real estate sector: strong and structured, with clear targets and transparent progress reporting. Financial logic likely plays a role here too — energy-efficient buildings are more attractive to tenants and investors. We are curious to see whether that momentum continues into 2026.
The picture in the financial sector is more nuanced. Two major banks have withdrawn from SBTi, effectively the standard for sustainability reporting. The explanation lies partly in the social role of banks and insurers, but the contrast with the industrial world remains striking.
Scope 3: from ambition to maturity
Over the past year, more and more companies have been mapping their scope 3 reporting. We see three levels of maturity emerging:
- A small leading group that maps the full value chain and actively tracks the decarbonisation progress of suppliers.
- A growing middle group that is starting to set concrete requirements for chain partners, with or without quantitative targets.
- A tail that is still in the process of setting up measurement systems and gathering baseline data.
CSRD plays a key role here: it forces companies to improve data quality and build more robust measurement systems. Comparability remains a challenge, however — some companies established new baselines for a more accurate picture, while others are still mapping their operational footprint.
Technology as a decarbonisation enabler
A trend that has broken through in recent years: digital acceleration and innovation are being explicitly named as levers for decarbonisation. Technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) are appearing as concrete pillars in transition strategies.
At the same time, reports are becoming more technical, with double materiality analyses and extensive value chain descriptions. This only increases the need for an accessible translation for a broader audience.
CEO communication: integrating vision and data
Based on our separate analysis of CEO communication in the Belgian business media, we identified two profiles: CEOs who lean heavily on personal conviction and long-term vision, and CEOs who communicate more from metrics and strategy.
Ultimately, it is the CEOs who manage to combine both — vision and data — who leave a lasting impression on stakeholders. This is also confirmed by the research of Professor Karen Maas of Erasmus University Rotterdam. Sustainability that is integrated into the broader business strategy calls for a different tone: less declarative, more authentic.
A closing thought
ESG reporting has come of age. That is an achievement — but it also raises a question. In a market where almost everyone is in the leading group and reports are starting to look increasingly similar, the challenge shifts. No longer: ‘Are we taking part?’ But rather: ‘Are we still saying something that matters?’
More than ever, it will therefore be important to communicate transparently. Do you have the courage to explain openly why progress has stalled? Do you make clear choices and have the courage to defend them?
Finding an authentic voice will also become more important in order to stand out. Are you able to align data and vision? How do you maintain consistency over the years, even as the context changes drastically?
Our impression is that the companies that will stand out this year are not necessarily those with the most comprehensive reports. Rather, they are those that dare to provide nuance, or that know how to translate their story into a broader context than the technical reporting requirements alone.
FINN/Gosselin & de Walque: your communications agency for ESG and sustainability reporting
Questions about your ESG or sustainability reporting? FINN/Gosselin & de Walque is a strategic communications agency that supports you across all aspects and channels, from readiness support to sustainability reports, integrated annual reports and CEO communication. Don’t hesitate to get in touch!
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References include: AB Inbev, La Lorraine, Lhoist, Vandersanden, Saint-Gobain Belgium, Spadel