Elia Group’s Sustainability Report wins award for best report produced by a listed company

BRUSSELS | The Belgian Institute of Registered Auditors (IBR-IRE) has recognised the work Elia Group has invested in sustainability reporting. During the Belgian Awards for Sustainability Reports (BAS), Elia Group’s report was honoured as the best sustainability report to be published by a listed company. The judges praised the steady improvements the Group has made in terms of integrating sustainability into its strategy and the numerous interactions that Elia Group has with its stakeholders. 

As a large EU company with over 500 employees, Elia Group falls under the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The latter includes strong rules about the social and environmental information that companies have to report on. This enhanced reporting is aimed at ensuring that investors and other stakeholders have the information they need to assess the impact of companies on people and the environment. It is also aimed at ensuring that investors can assess the financial risks and opportunities linked to climate change and other sustainability issues. 

'Fully charged for change' is Elia Group’s very first fully integrated annual report (2023) that combines financial and sustainability information in one document. Integrated reporting is quite a complex process. Elia Group’s report provides a broad view of its business strategy and performance, mapping out all opportunities and risks linked to its activities. It communicates the essence of the organisation – its purpose - and how it can create sustainable value for itself and all of its stakeholders.

The jury described Elia Group’s integrated report as a very good report which demonstrated continuous improvement, as part of which sustainability is integrated into the Group’s strategy and strong examples of stakeholder management are provided. The fact that the report addresses double materiality (financial and impact materiality) and that the Group began aligning the report with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS, required by the CSRD) was described as exemplary. The report was described as being well structured, with user-friendly navigation and photos linked to the Group’s core activities.

72 Belgian companies submitted their sustainability reports for consideration as part of the awards, of which 27 are large listed organisations. Elia Group has previously been honoured with the following prizes: 'Best First Sustainability Report' (2018) and 'Best Sustainability Report on Stakeholder Inclusiveness and Engagement' (2020). Receiving the 'Best Sustainability Report' award means that Elia Group’s work has now received the highest level of recognition.