April 2024 Newsletter · News · Impact Finance Belgium

Dear Friends of IFB,

At the start of this second quarter, IFB welcomed five new members, expanding our group to almost 40, with a complementary mix of backgrounds, enriching our membership group.

Last week, I really enjoyed listening to three of our members who jointly presented at an IFB Members’ Talk how they collaborate in the promotion and practical implementation of impact with their clients. On our website, also in this newsletter, we will share a “Point of View” interview with someone important for IFB.

Since this month, we have two active working groups, composed of five/six members exchanging experiences and designing how to increase and improve impact in their portfolios. The Institutionals group started in March. The Place Based group started in April. With each, we aim for the practical approaches and concrete steps. We immediately noticed great openness to share practices and ideas, which will be crucial for these team efforts.

IFB shared knowledge via a publication on Labels and Certifications, to be found on our website. Also online was our second webinar, this time on the five steps of Impact Management. These webinars are followed by some of our members, also by many who work for consultants, financiers, foundations and academics, all interested in impact.

Together with Impact Europe and other NABs (IFBs in other countries), we presented a political Manifesto to members of the European Parliament. We hope this input will steer their work towards more impact finance. For the Belgian market, we started to prepare Policy and Regulations recommendations to politicians and civil servants. For this project of several months, IFB will be supported by a renowned law firm in Brussels. We will collect inputs from our members and look at international inspiration.

These are some of the highlights, on which more when you continue reading. Please take it as an invitation to any of you to come to us with your ideas and suggestions. IFB is preparing more topics for research/publications, for collaboration among members, for learning/designing with members.

The next important moment for our members will be our first Annual General Meeting, on Tuesday 14 May, followed by the IFB Annual Drinks, at the Impact House. Invitations have gone out to all members. Please let us know if you want to register to attend.

This newsletter will also include the first reading tip. We identified interesting books related to impact finance. We will share one book per month. We are open to your tips.

Enjoy reading!

Frederik and the team of IFB

IFB Inspires💡

IFB published a new report: ‘ Overview of the Labels and Certificates in Sustainable and Impact Finance.’

This report gives an overview of the instruments available in Belgium and Europe. It aims to increase transparency, ensure quality and promote best practices in the financial sector with a focus on sustainability and impact.

Read and download the report

IFB Enables🔓

Impact Europe, IFB and fellow European NAB (Stichting NAB, FAIR, Social Impact Agenda per l’Italia and SpainNAB) launched ‘ The Investing for Impact Manifesto’ ahead of the European Election.

The Manifesto was launched to call MEPs, political parties and EU decision-makers to put impact at the centre of EU policies. It also outlines concrete actions for the EU to enable the work of Impact Investors.

Read the manifesto

IFB Connects🔗

On Tuesday, 23 April, we invited SFPIM, PMV and finance&invest.brussels to present the ESG reporting tool that was jointly developed with Greenomy and Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

IFB Inspires💡

The second IMM series was on 5 Steps of Impact Measurement and Management developed by Impact Europe. Through this webinar, we outlined a framework on how those steps can be integrated into your investment journey.

Watch the Recording

IFB Catalyzes🌱

After the start of the first working group on Institutionals last month, we now started the second group, on place-based impact finance. We invited our members active in this field such as SFPIM, Triodos Bank, AG Insurance, Trividend, Revive and VDK Bank.

With the members of this group, we share practices and ambition, as well as questions and hurdles, to jointly determine what is needed to further accelerate impact with our clients.

POINT OF VIEW

IFB returns with Point of View interviews with members of our Board or Advisory Committee. They will present about how and why they got into impact finance, what observations they have made and some of their advice or lessons they have learned. Through these articles, we hope that you will get to know people who are important to IFB and that their stories will inspire you!

Thomas van Craen, CEO of Triodos Bank and member of the IFB Advisory Committee.

“ I have witnessed a significant change in attitudes towards impact finance in recent years. There is now widespread acceptance that impact finance is not inherently less profitable.

I joined Triodos Bank in 2015 after several years of reflection on the role of finance in our society. […] By working at Triodos Bank, I could apply my efforts and skills to maximize my positive impact (while minimizing my negative impact) by being much more conscious of the choices we make daily as a financial institution. This helped me to reconnect on a deeper level with the financial sector and its potential to add value to society. ”

Read Thomas' Story

Annual General Meeting of IFB on Tuesday 14 May, followed by Annual Drinks

IFB will organize its first Annual General Meeting at the Impact House. The AGM is for members only. After the AGM, we will ask you to follow us to the garden of the Impact House to start IFB’s Annual Drinks. Two IFB members will speak at the drinks: Peter de Coensel from DPAM and Patrick Somerhausen / Nicolas Crochet from Funds for Good.

Invitations have been sent, please check your email, or contact us through hello@impactfinance.be

Webinar series continued...

The third webinar in this IMM series is on the different methods to measure impact. In this series, we will invite Sophie Paquot, Co-director of the Impact Investing Program from Vlerick Business School. This webinar will be held on Thursday, 30 May, at lunchtime.

News from Our Community

NEWS FROM IFB MEMBERS

DPAM ranks first in the Responsible Investment Brand Index (RIBI™). In its sixth edition, the Responsible Investment Brand Index (RIBI™) highlights the ability of 600 asset managers globally to translate their efforts towards responsible investment into their core brand.
VDK Bank is continuing to develop strongly as a sustainable and ethical bank. FairFin has just published the new BankWijzer, the biennial assessment of banks in our country in the field of social and ecological sustainability. With a total score of 78%, vdk bank consolidates its second place in the ranking of the most sustainable Belgian banks.
ImpaktEU

ImpaktEU’s – collaboration fund between Inpulse Investment Manager and Funds for Good – inaugural investment in the “Sustainable Food” theme and, above all, its first investment in Belgium!

This investment in the Farm For Good cooperative marks an important step towards enhancing sustainable agriculture practices. It will finance farmers’ harvests directly, accelerating their transition to regenerative agriculture.

Vlerick Business School – Impact Investing Course

Do you want to drive meaningful environmental and societal change. But can investing for positive impact also generate sound financial returns?

This programme has been designed to help investment professionals achieve both positive change and profit – by developing the right skills and using the best tools.

NEWS FROM NABS & PARTNERS

Read the latest news and updates from the GSG, NABs and partners.

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