March 2024 Newsletter

Dear Friends of IFB,

Earlier this week, our team had a front-row view of the Rue de la Loi, where protesting farmers ignited fireworks and started bonfires right across from the Impact House. Without defending their actions, these farmers and their many tractors laid out the challenge of impact financiers in one picture: striving to combine economic, social and environmental interests, which is not always easy. Better insights into the value chain will help, which is why IFB welcomes the CSDDD decision of mid-March.

A very positive signal came from our neighbors just yesterday when a group of large Dutch pension funds offered to invest billions of euros in a much-needed energy transition, calling on the government to support them on this.

Earlier in March, IFB started a working group with several institutional or large financiers to better understand what their ambitions are towards sustainability, towards impact, and what may be needed to get there. We are preparing another working group with several financiers interested in place-based impact financing (overlapping with social housing). At least two other topics are in the making, each time based on the interest of several members of IFB.

On the IFB publications, you can expect a note on many sustainable and impact labels that are available in Belgium and the countries around us. Other topics will follow in the coming months. The November publication on ESG and Impact attracted attention from different members, even training programs, reason for IFB to present this again at an Impact Monday (earlier in March at the Impact House) and to use it as a basis for a short webinar series that started on 28 March.

As interaction with our members is important, we will be calling on you to come and participate, to come and present, to come and share your questions, so IFB can help you find or develop the answers. In April, we will offer you several moments again, at the Impact House, online or individually ( check our website).

Wishing you all a great Easter weekend, or Easter vacation, and hope to see you soon again!

Warm regards,

Frederik and the IFB team

LINK TO THE NEWSLETTER:

IFB Activities Recap in March

When in Rome (NAB Meeting in Rome, Italy)

On 4 March, Frederik, IFB CEO, attended ‘IMPACT NOW. Another Capitalism is Possible,’ an event organised by SIA to celebrate 10 years of the Human Foundation and the GSG. The event produced seven proposals for an impactful future.

The next day, the National Advisory Boards across Europe met. There were representatives from the Netherlands Advisory Board on Impact Investing, SpainNAB, FAIR France, Maze Impact, Social Impact Agenda Per L’Italia, and Impact Europe. This meeting was held to discuss collaboration in European projects and to speak with one voice at European Level.

IFB Events in March

Impact Monday – Impact Unraveled

Questions such as ‘What constitutes impact? Can it be measured, and if so, how?’ arise within the impact investing community. To provide more clarity, IFB was speaking during Impact House’s Impact Monday on 11 March 2024. IFB invited Professor Christel Dumas from ICHEC to complement the presentation of Wendy Braeken on the topic. It was a meaningful, constructive and fruitful evening with engaging participation from the attendees.

#Happening with IFB

IFB’s CEO was one of the panel speakers at the #Happening event organised by the Vlaamse Federatie van Beleggers (VFB). Along with Sofie Versmissen from Forum Ethibel and Tom Van den Berghe from Febelfin, they discussed ‘Hoe beleggers het verschil kunnen maken’ (How investors can make a difference).

Impact for Breakfast – Role of Philanthropy

On 28 March, we started with croissants, coffee and Impact at BIO’s office. On this Impact for a Breakfast event, Sybren Devoghel, Investment Manager at King Baudouin Foundation and Tanguy Vanloqueren, Advisor to the Director at Foundation for Future Generations shed a new light on the role of philanthropy in Impact Investing.

If you missed this session, there will be another Impact for Breakfast, scheduled for Autumn this year. Keep an eye on IFB’s website and LinkedIn.

IMM Webinar 1 – Impact Unraveled

On the same 28 March, IFB organised the first webinar on the Impact Measurement and Management series. Together with the participants, Wendy Braeken, IFB’s Impact Expert, and Professor Christel Dumas from ICHEC Business School unravelled the differences and similarities between ESG and Impact Investing. The replay of the webinar can be seen through the link below.

The next topic in the series is ‘5 Steps of Impact Measurement and Management’ (see the post below).

WATCH THE REPLAY

Voor het klimaat telt elke cent

At IFB, we believe that finance can be a force for good. It is important to know how/where your money has the biggest impat. This is why IFB supports the ‘Voor het klimaat telt elke cent’ campaign initiated by Duurzaam Beleggen Academy. Listen to the inspiring stories from various people on how to make their money count and how they overcame the challenges. Take action by following the webinars organised by Duurzaam Beleggen Academy.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN

Impact Events in April

Impact Monday – Afrika: een gedroomde toekomst (Open to all)

Loïc De Cannière, our Board Member, just published a book titled ‘Afrika, een gedroomde toekomst’. On Monday, 15 April, he will be speaking at the Impact House about his book.

In this Impact Monday, Loïc breaks the negative perceptions – the ‘doom and gloom’ – of Africa. It calls the attention of European countries to make a new chapter of supporting the African aspirations and ambitions. This Impact Monday will be in Dutch, and it starts from 6.30PM – 8PM at the Impact House (Rue Joseph II, 20, 1000 Brussels).

Lerend Netwerk Ondernemerschap ‘Financiering’

Steven Serneels, IFB’s Chair of the Board, will be the keynote speaker in one of the parallel sessions at an event organised by VLAIO. VLAIO is organising an event with the theme of ‘financiering’ with a focus on ‘impactfinanciering’ on 19 April at the office of BNP Paribas Fortis .Steven’s session will be on ‘Het Vlaamse Impactfinancieringlandschap voor starters en kmo’s, de uitdagingen van de toekomst’.

Mark your calendar on Friday, 19 April from 9 AM – 2.30 PM. This event will be held at the office of BNP Paribas Fortis (Warandeberg, 1000 Brussel).

Impact and Impact Measurement and Management Webinar Series (Open to all)

The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) defined 3 principles for Impact Investing namely intentionality, additionality and measurement. In this second webinar, we will focus on the 5 steps of Impact Measurement and Management, as defined by Impact Europe (formerly EVPA). Joining us will be Clara Maspons, a knowledge associate at Impact Europe, to share her insights and experience in measuring impact. We will link those steps to the different phases in the investment process to give you an idea of how these 5 steps can be applied. The webinar lasts for one hour from 12 – 13 CET on Thursday, 25 April 2024.

23 April Members’ Talk (Members and invites only)

Last month, the four regional and federal public investment companies, finance&invest.brussels, PMV, Wallonie Entreprendre, and SFPIM, announced the adoption of a standardized ESG analysis framework for companies. The Impact Scoring Platform comprises non-financial criteria through which a company can construct its sustainability profile in alignment with European standards, enabling companies to easily communicate their performance to various stakeholders, including investors, employees, and customers. This new system was developed through the combined expertise of the investment companies, the technological innovation of the Greenomy scale-up, and the collaboration with VUB.

At IFB, we warmly welcome these collaborations and saw it as a great opportunity to invite finance&invest.brussels, PMV, and SFPIM, to our upcoming members’ talk. During this meeting, they will delve deeper into:

• their strategic choice for sustainable or impact investing,
• the practical implementation of this choice,
• their collaboration in building a shared tool,
• and the insights that we, as members, can learn from this experience.

The invitation, for members only, will be sent in the coming days.

If you cannot make it to April’s Members’ Talk, you can join the following dates. Please mark: 27 June, 10 September, and 10 December on your calendar.

In the height of spring, IFB will organise its Annual General Meeting (for all IFB members) on 14 May. This will be followed by a Spring Drink at the Impact House terrace.

Then, on 8 October, IFB will host the 2024 IFB Members’ Impact Day, a day with expert presentations and discussions, for members and targeted invites. The large-scale Belgian Impact Days, for the wider public, will be run every other year. The third Belgian Impact Day (larger scale, similar to last year) is planned for Q2 of 2025.

More information will be announced soon via IFB LinkedIn and website.

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