For the eighth year running, Brussels is first in Europe, according to the UIA’s annual ranking. Its ideal geographical location, the presence of an important network of associations and European institutions, a vast network of speakers nearby, places for special events, hotel infrastructure, multilingualism… the associations’ leaders are right: Brussels has bountiful strengths and benefits. This choice has been reflected in its gaining first place again, according to the UIA’s European ranking.

The fact that Brussels has confirmed its place as leading destination for associations for eight years is also because the associations benefit from the support of the Brussels-Capital region. In fact, the visit.brussels Convention Bureau has developed several programmes aimed at ensuring the capital’s long-term attractiveness. Organisation, marketing support, a network of ambassadors from Brussels, involvement of experts… associations are firmly supported throughout the development of their event.

The visit.brussels Association Bureau supports all international associations who wish to get set up in Brussels and join the 2,250 associations who are already in the capital. These associations represent a very diversified sector. Brussels offers them a special ecosystem, creating jobs with a wide international influence.

“visit.brussels has invested greatly in supporting international associations and in organising their events. They are truly part of the capital’s DNA. In this respect, in 2018 the 15 partners from the visit.brussels Convention and Association Bureau have contributed significantly to the 733 meetings of international associations held in Brussels. A big part of our 2025 strategy’s commitments is based on a deeper development of our congress and conference offer, as well as strengthening personalised services supported by international associations. They will be able to reap the benefits of the numerous connections that our experts will help with, as well as the economic developments of our region,” says Patrick Bontinck, CEO of visit.brussels.

For more information about the Convention Bureau and Association Bureau visit

For more information on the UIA visit

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Seven European consumers’ associations recently launched a European citizens’ initiative called “PRO-NUTRISCORE”. This initiative aims to make Front-of-Pack (FOP) nutritional labelling on food products in Europe mandatory.

Why is Front-of-Pack nutritional labelling important?

Food intake plays a major role in the prevalence of chronic diseases, such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes. International studies identify the usage of FOP labelling as desirable to help consumers improve the nutritional quality of their food choices. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) has listed the usage of FOP labelling as one of the most cost-effective ways of reducing the burden of chronic diseases.

Additionally, the usage of FOP nutritional labelling is also perceived as a tool which will promote food reformulation among the food sector. Healthier products would benefit from a better classification according to the FOP nutritional labelling, thus further promoting the improvement of the nutritional quality of food intake.

The Nutri-Score Model

The tables and figures on packaging of food products are far from being readable and easily comprehensible by consumers. It is important to translate this information into a simple, consumer friendly, and readable logo placed on the front of the product. This will help European consumers compare the nutritional value of different products.

Nutri-Score was conceived by a team of independent academic researchers. It consists of a graphical colored representation, which also uses letters to improve the readability of the label. Nutri-Score classifies the nutritional profile of a food product into five mutually exclusive categories.

This innovative algorithm classifies products between dark green (associated with the letter A) and red (associated with the letter E). This classification is based on nutritional criteria and is validated scientifically. Simply put, the computation of each product’s classification relies on a nutrient profiling system which takes into consideration negative elements (calories, sugars, saturated fatty-acids and sodium/salt) and positive elements (fibers, percentage of fruit and vegetables and proteins) of the nutritional contents of each product.

Several scientific studies published in international peer-reviewed scientific journals have shown Nutri-Score’s effectiveness and superiority compared to other similar logos.

The adoption of a European Front-of-Pack nutritional labelling system

Nutri-Score has been developed by the French Ministry of Health and defined as the national reference. More than one hundred and fifteen food manufacturers and retailers have followed suit and deployed (or committed to deploying) Nutri-Score on all their products. Furthermore, other Ministries of Health (i.e. Belgium and Spain) have published national recommendations towards adopting Nutri-Score. Nutri-Score also counts on the strong support of European consumers’ associations.

Lack of decisive action has been promoted by policy and regulatory authorities lying outside the health sector and strong opposition by several food manufacturing companies and retail sectors. As a result, several different FOP labelling systems are used at the national level without any type of standardization.

Evidence shows that the overload of different FOP labelling systems available in the market confuse consumers instead of improving their decision capacity. Therefore, a European and harmonized FOP labelling system should be implemented.

Call to action for all European citizens

Unfortunately, as it stands today, the implementation of Nutri-Score depends solely on the willingness of the food industry. In fact, due to European regulations (implemented a few years ago in line with the interests in mind of large multinationals), companies can refuse to play the game of nutritional transparency. European countries can’t make a particular FOP system mandatory.

Even though some companies have set an example and implemented Nutri-Score, others have not (and even continue to try to torpedo Nutri-Score at the European level).

In order to help European consumers have healthier and more informed lifestyles, a European citizens’ initiative was launched and registered by the European Commission. Several countries are pushing for Nutri-Score. It is time to push for new European regulations to fight for the interest of European consumers.

To do so, one million signatures from at least seven European countries must be gathered. It is necessary to mobilize a maximum of citizens to put pressure on the European Commission and to change existing regulations.

Sign the petition “Pronutriscore” on the official site of the European Commission: www.pronutriscore.org.

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KBC has announced that it will be transforming 65 of its bank branches into fully automated services by the end of the year, while completely closing branches at a further 51 different locations.

According to KBC, this move is in response to “changing customer behavior”, as more and more people choose to do the majority of their banking online.

“In the first quarter of 2019, 57% of our customers were doing all of their banking digitally,” said the bank in a statement. “Moreover, it makes no economic sense to operate offices that are very seldom used by our customers.”

KBC has stated that its 65 converted branches will be equipped with state-of-the-art bank machines that will allow customers to withdraw cash, read and print their account statements, and make transfers. KBC has also claimed that those employees affected by these changes will not be fired, but merely relocated.

Once these reforms have been enacted, KBC will have a network of 350 branches and 190 ATMs in Flanders; KBC Brussels will have 31 branches and 3 ATMs in the capital; and in Wallonia, KBC’s CBC subsidiary will have 86 branches.

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Brussels is Europe’s fifth most expensive capital city in terms of construction costs, according to a recent report by the consulting company Arcadis.

The study, entitled “International Construction Costs 2019”, found that the four priciest European capitals to build in are Copenhagen, London, Moscow and Paris, while at a global level construction is most expensive in New York, San Francisco and Hong Kong. The ten cheapest cities for construction worldwide, on the other hand, are almost all in Asia.

In Belgium, a rise of 2.5% in the average cost of construction is expected for 2019 relative to 2018, according to Arcadis.

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The decision to introduce the pilot scheme was taken after a study conducted by the Colruyt group found that many of its customers using the online Collect & Go service were interested in the possibility of home delivery.

The five municipalities participating in the pilot project were selected for two reasons: firstly, because of their proximity to the Colruyt distribution center in Zaventem; and secondly, because the inhabitants of these communes had expressed a particular interest in having such a service.

The deliveries will be made by Collect & Go employees driving vans running on compressed natural gas (CNG), a relatively ‘green’ fuel compared to diesel and regular gasoline. “These vehicles emit less CO² and fewer harmful substances than gasoline or diesel engines,” the company said in a statement.

The amount charged for the home delivery service will be €9.50, in addition to the standard service fee of €5.50 for the preparation of packages at Colruyt’s collection points (used for its Collect & Go service). The prices of products delivered at home will remain the same as those charged in stores.

Deliveries will take place from 4pm – 9pm on weekdays, and from 8am to noon on Saturdays. Customers will be able to choose their preferred time of delivery within these time windows. Payment will be made on delivery.

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All entrepreneurs make mistakes. Quite often mistakes lead to wasted opportunities, time and even money. But in fact, mistakes are part of the excitement of doing it. Otherwise it would just be a dull and easy exercise. Anybody would be able to do it. Knowing that you are outsmarting the challenges is a huge thrill and motivation for entrepreneurs.

There is no recipe for success. No checklist you can blindly follow to be a successful entrepreneur. This does not mean that being an entrepreneur is about taking a leap of faith and hoping for the best. It is not guesswork. It is a mindset. A skillset. Previous experience and knowledge can help.

Besides personal experience and learning, huge value can be created from the failures and learning of others. Books are an amazing resource for this. The best thing about it is that, compared to other learning alternatives (i.e. formal education), it is extremely cheap.

I would like to share with you a list of books that helped me being better at my job as innovation consultant. The learnings in these books are useful for entrepreneurs but also, and based on my personal experience, for big and multinational organisations wanting to be more innovative.

1. The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

This book guides you through the different stages a startup goes through. It details a go-getter approach which differs from traditional approaches. From identifying which opportunities are worth pursuing to finding the right people for your team, this book helps you learn how to avoid getting stuck in typical traps.

2. The Non-Technical Founder by Josh MacDonald

What if you have an amazing tech idea that you want to explore, but have no idea how to code? Nowadays, there is no need to know software to start a business. This book condenses advices from over twenty founders of multimillion software companies for non-technical people.

3. The Founder’s Dilemmas by Noam Wasserman

This book is based on research done at Princeton. It focuses on helping entrepreneurs avoiding common mistakes that can have huge negative effects on a business. The book is particularly interesting for unexperienced entrepreneurs as it familiarizes the reader with business structures. It uses easily recognizable examples, which makes it entertaining as well.

4. Surge by Matt Kane, Steve Garguilo and Sergiy Skoryk

Many of us are extremely passionate about specific ideas but we do not act on them. We tend to wait for the perfect timing or opportunity. This book delves into strategies helping people bring ideas to life instead of waiting for an idyllic moment that will never happen. It covers issues such as dealing with anxiety, fears and the feeling of being overwhelmed.

5. The Peter Principle by Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull

Things go wrong sooner or later. But why? This book addresses the issue of incompetence and how staffing can make or break a business. This topic is relevant for all business owners across industries, levels of experience and maturity.

6. Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz

The author’s remarkable career as a hostage negotiator and later as an award-winning teacher in the world’s most prestigious business schools is, most definitely a huge sell for this book. It approaches the negotiation process as a set of irrational and emotional responses. This book takes emotional intelligence and intuition to the next level.

7. Zero to One by Peter Thiel

This book is for people that are starting a business and want to create something truly innovative and disruptive, rather than an incremental innovation or improved version of something already out there. It helps in learning the right questions to ask in order to create new offerings.

8. Grit by Angela Duckworth

This book explores the qualities leading to success and point out that genius plays a very small role in outstanding achievements. It is an extremely personal and insightful read on what people think during the process of failure. Grit, a combination of passion and perseverance, not talent or luck, fuels success.

9. Start with Why by Simon Sinek

This book is based on the famous TED Talk by Simon Sinek. It shows that the most influential leaders of the world think, communicate and act in the same way. Interestingly enough, it is the exact opposite way in which most people do. The Golden Circle is the framework provided upon which leaders can inspire, lead and build organization.

10. Side Hustle by Chris Guillebeau

What if you could easily create new income without giving up the security of a full-time job? This book shows you how to launch a side business in less than a month. The so-called side hustle. I particularly like this book because it is exactly how I ended up following a career in innovation. It all started as a side hustle (I actually called my first company Hack & Hustle).

The post 10 lesser-known (or not) books you must read before starting a business appeared first on Brussels Express.

In a quiet, isolated corner of Laeken, there is a 4-hectare space dedicated to the development of environment-conscious enterprises. The place is called Greenbizz, the first sustainable economy incubator in Brussels. Launched in 2016, the initiative is one of several strategies employed by the Brussels-Capital Region with the goal of making Brussels a more sustainable city.

Greenbizz is part of a large-scale urban development called TIVOLI, funded by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) and CITYDEV. The facility is housed in an energy-efficient building made of wood and other sustainable materials. “As a passive building, it is well insulated and doesn’t require a lot of energy for heating. In fact, the building generates more energy than it uses,” says Greenbizz director Jean-Marc Bryskère.

The place has a hip yet sacred feel to it, almost like a New Age camp where people are devoted to the same philosophy and mission of promoting and cultivating socially and environmentally responsible ways of making profit. “We welcome entrepreneurs who want to make a more positive impact on the planet. Greenbizz provides them with work spaces in a stimulating environment conducive to innovation, “says Jean-Marc.

At present, Greenbizz is incubating about 40 different start-ups. One of its first innovators is the No Science Brasserie which makes artisanal beer. While beer production usually leaves a water footprint of five to seven liters for one liter of beer, No Science strives to maintain a ratio of three liters of water to one liter of beer. No additives or chemicals are used in beer production. “We send our organic waste to farms where they are transformed into cattle feed or reused for composting, ” says Maxime Dumay, founder of the microbrewery.

But what do the beers taste like? “It’s not your typical Belgian beer, but we still put our Belgian touch in it,” says Maxime. “We are trying to break the same old formula for making Belgian beer.” Maxime describes his products as a cross between Belgian beer which is typically sweet, full-bodied, and contains six to nine percent alcohol, and English beer which is typically more fruity, less sweet, and has lower alcohol content. The beers are also named after rock bands and songs: Psycho, Fade to Grey, Stoner Witch, Da’Funk, and more.

Mamé Noka Coffee, another Greenbizz start-up, aims to make a difference one cup at a time. Social entrepreneur Quentin Castel launched the business to provide top quality coffee made from beans that are carefully selected based on strict traceability requirements. He advocates a coffee-drinking culture where consumers can trace the origins of their coffee to ensure that coffee farmers directly benefit from product sales.

“We drink 2 billion cups (of coffee) a day on our planet. For us, it is our morning ritual, our fuel to work, our source of heat in winter. But for farmers’ children, coffee is much more: it is education, it is medicine when they are sick, food on the table. Coffee is the difference between poverty and enrichment. And progress is only possible when farmers have a quality crop and a decent place to sell it,” says Quentin.

One of the more unconventional projects at Greenbizz is Little Food, a start-up that promotes crickets as a sustainable food source. “Crickets are richer in protein, vitamins, and minerals compared to beef and chicken. It’s also more ecological since production requires a much lower amount of energy and resources,” says Maïté Mercier, co-founder of Little Food. But what are crickets like on the palate? Maïté says they taste somewhere between chicken and shrimps.

Just beside Little Food is Cityvini, a start-up that specializes in eco-friendly artisanal wines. Greenbizz also features a zero-waste online grocery store called Lili Bulk which offers 100 percent bio products in bulk and packaged in reusable and returnable containers. 

Wood Harmony is one of the non-food projects at Greenbiz. The carpentry business managed by Nicolas Lartelier carries out all types of woodwork from classic to contemporary design for outdoor and indoor installations.

Cityfab 1 is a fabrication laboratory dedicated to digital manufacturing. The ‘fablab’ is open to anyone involved in creating computer-modelled objects using 3D printers, laser cutters, and digital milling machines. It is also a place for creative people to exchange and share technical skills.

It’s still a struggle for most sustainability ventures to make it in the market. “Since sustainable economy is a fairly new sector, it’s quite difficult to launch these start-ups. It involves a lot of risk. You have to develop new business models and find new clients, you have to challenge old business practices and traditional ways of consumption,” says Jean-Marc.

Getting new clients is particularly challenging since sustainable products are more expensive in general. The business of having to look for rarer and more durable alternative materials and solutions that provide environmental, social, and economic benefits all at the same time – is not cheap.

“People need to understand that sustainable economy is not particularly less expensive than traditional economy. But it has a huge positive impact on the environment and on public health,” says Jean-Marc. “It will take time for mentalities to change, but it’s happening slowly.”

The post Welcome to Greenbizz, the first sustainable economy incubator in Brussels appeared first on Brussels Express.

Individual workers remain the primary target for spaces looking to attract members with the promise of reliable tech infrastructure, meeting rooms, access to networking events, shared expertise, and increased productivity. But that’s not all.

The high proportion of international diaspora in Brussels means many of the city’s workers want to build a contact book and join a community. Various workhubs clamour to meet these needs and propose distinct vibes, among which are Scandinavian design and hygge at The Library network, brunch time yoga at Les Galeries, and, at Factory Forty, even chicken coops in shared gardens.

But it is a myth that coworking spaces are full of lonely hipsters. Around 50% of members identify as employees or business owners. And why wouldn’t they too hanker after what’s on offer? Research shows that coworking respondents rate themselves as ‘six out of seven’ on a ‘thriving at work’ scale; at least one point higher than regular office workers. Factors at play include how meaningful work life is perceived to be, an alignment of identity and values, and job control.

Indeed, marketplace predictions suggest big firms are onto this. As they restructure to create crack ‘innovation teams’, we’ll see an increase in semi-corporate, semi-independent squads with more flexibility and freedom than their cooped-up counterparts, moving into coworking environments. This could mean an increase in fixed desks, pressure on meeting rooms, and just what the effect on the prevailing pranayama will be, remains to be seen.

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High demand for project managers, foremen and electricians

StepStone analysed the advertisements for all Belgian online job sites over the past two years. They examined the advertisements of the 20 construction companies which most frequently publish job advertisements. From the 8,948 job postings examined, the following profiles emerged as the most in demand:

Almost a third of the advertisements examined requested one of these five profiles. It is not entirely surprising that companies are looking for skilled employees who possess either managerial qualities or technical knowledge. Moreover, the top five remained stable over the past two years.

Demand for workers in the construction sector continues to increase

In general, the job-site also notes that the number of advertisements posted by the construction sector is also increasing. This is what transpired from a second analysis carried out by StepStone based on data from all Belgian job websites via the aggregation tool Index. When comparing the first three quarters of 2017 and 2018, we see a 14% growth in job advertisements. For the same period throughout 2017-2018, there was also an increase of 7% in the number of companies in the construction sector posting advertisements.

StepStone as official HR partner for BATIBOUW

To address this need and to connect employers with employees, StepStone has been selected as the official HR partner for BATIBOUW in 2019. Expect, among other things, a true “Jobwall” on which vacancies from the construction sector are displayed, as well as a specific Jobday at BATIBOUW.

Meet StepStone at BATIBOUW 2019 from Thursday 21 February through Sunday 3 March at Brussels Expo. Save the date & practical information can be found on the official website.

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