Create sustainable added value
Ethics and transparency
Ethics and transparency are essential if we are to fulfil our societal role credibly and accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Why is this important?
Reporting more transparently through a European impulse
Since 2023, the EU has required companies to be more transparent about their environmental, social and governance performance. The CSRD obliges large enterprises and listed SMEs to report annually on their non-financial results. The 2025 ‘Omnibus I’ package will ease these rules, exempting around 80% of companies. In addition, the CS3D has required companies since 2024 to manage human rights and environmental risks within their value chains. Its implementation has been postponed until 2028 and, for now, applies only to direct suppliers.
Using technology responsibly
The impact of technology is growing rapidly. Generative AI brings new opportunities but also ethical challenges. The technology industry bears a clear responsibility in this regard. Customers, investors and citizens expect transparency about societal impact and ethical decision-making. The CSRD and CS3D encourage companies to integrate sustainability and ethics into their strategies. For the sector, this means not only reporting but also reflecting on how technology is developed and used. More than 400 Agoria members are already covered by these regulations.
Initiatives of Agoria between 2023 and 2025
Transparency as a lever for trust
The technology industry carries an increasing social responsibility. New European regulations such as the CSRD and CS3D require companies to report transparently on their environmental, social, and governance performance. Agoria actively supports its members in this transition through the Corporate Compliance Academy, a learning pathway on ESG reporting, ethics, risk management, and internal control, as well as practical tools such as checklists, model documents, and digital templates for non-financial reporting. In addition, Agoria facilitates learning networks and workshops on materiality assessment, value chain management, and ethical decision-making.
Ethical technology: taking responsibility in a digital world
Technology offers tremendous opportunities, but it also raises ethical questions. Think of AI applications that boost productivity but also create risks of misinformation or bias. Agoria organises inspiration sessions and masterclasses on AI and ethics (such as AI Legal and AI4HR), encourages companies to embed ethics structurally into their innovation processes, and promotes transparent communication about the societal impact of technology.
From reporting to reflecting: in-depth support for sustainability reporting
Between 2023 and 2025, Agoria provided intensive guidance to its members in implementing the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The approach was thorough and practice-oriented.
The process was structured around the guide “7 Steps to Sustainability Reporting”, which helps companies build their reporting process step by step.
Specific tools such as the Sustainability Scan and the Materiality Check Tool support companies in conducting materiality assessments, gathering data, and identifying relevant indicators. Learning networks and feedback groups provided space for knowledge sharing, peer learning, and collective interpretation of the ESRS requirements.
Agoria also played an active role in European decision-making by collecting feedback from members and relaying it to EFRAG, allowing Belgian companies to help shape the standards. For SMEs, Agoria promoted the VSME standards (Voluntary Standards for Small and Medium Enterprises), which provide a simplified framework for voluntary sustainability reporting. Agoria helped companies understand and apply these standards as a stepping stone towards more formal reporting obligations.
This intensive support has led to a significant increase in companies’ maturity and confidence in transparently and systematically reporting on their sustainability impact.
Transparency about the ethical implications of technology is essential to maintain trust with employees and society.
Nele Roekens, Enia
An ethical framework is not a barrier to innovation, but a prerequisite for sustainable and socially responsible growth.
Nele Roekens, Enia
Transparency about social impact in the supply chain, such as child labor and forced labor, is essential—even if companies do not have direct influence.
Katelijne Norga, Pantarein
Sustainability without transparency is an empty shell. Companies must dare to communicate about both their strengths and their challenges.
Katelijne Norga, Pantarein
Our engagements
We encourage all our members to report on their sustainability impact by 2030.
As the technology industry, we commit to taking the lead in complying with the legal obligations related to non-financial reporting (CSRD).
Where are we today?
Although there is not yet a complete overview of how many technology companies publish a sustainability report, a clear increase in maturity and engagement is visible. Thanks to Agoria’s intensive support between 2023 and 2025 (through tools, training and networks) more and more companies are moving towards transparent and structured reporting, even beyond what is legally required. All Belgian publicly listed Agoria member companies have now published their first integrated sustainability report in line with CSRD requirements.