ESG Countdown

Working together to build a more sustainable, inclusive and better-governed world is one of the most important challenges of our time.

CONNECTS is providing all its users’ easy access to the ESG Countdown community, know-how and training.

Founding partners Grant Thornton Belgium, BECI – Brussels Chamber of Commerce and CONNECTS want to ‘level the playing field’ for SMEs.

Why does ESG need an ecosystem approach?

On CONNECTS, we have created an ESG ecosystem, bringing all interested parties together with the aim to:

1. Build awareness and educate companies about the ESG journey

2. Provide ESG standards and metrics that are size of company/sector specific

3. Enable self-assessment and disclosure for companies to report and disclose ESG journey progress

4. Provide companies with an ESG ecosystem of trusted partners and services providers

5. Recognise, celebrate and reward companies engaging and making progress

Who should join ESG Countdown?

To achieve the EU’s ambitious green transition goals, we need companies of all sizes, sectors and geographies to engage. This is a big challenge, because beyond large corporates and investors, there is limited ESG awareness, knowledge and knowhow. However, “There will be no net zero without SMEs”.

How was the ESG Countdown developed?

On the 14th of July, 2022 BECI, CONNECTS and Grant Thornton Belgium  launched “the ESG Countdown community” inside the CONNECTS platform, with an in-person kick-off event held at BECI, Avenue Louise 500.

Starting in September 2022, a series of webinars introduced ‘the ESG Journey’,  held inside the same community on the CONNECTS platform. The ESG Journey enables companies to develop and implement strategies and actions to improve their impact in terms of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG).