From Awareness to Action: How Proximus bridges the Strategy - Execution gap

At Proximus, sustainability is embedded in the corporate strategy. But embedding it on paper is not the same as embedding it in decision-making. That gap between ambition and daily reality is exactly where the Director Climate Journey (DCJ), our flagship programme for climate governance, makes its mark.

Catherine Bals and Ben Appel, both part of Proximus's leadership, are candid about the tension. Short-term commercial pressure and long-term sustainability goals do not always pull in the same direction. The classic example: promotional campaigns offering hardware to acquire new customers. "Should we be giving away TVs?," says one of them plainly. "It could be something else, more environmentally friendly that's also attractive to the customer." But commercial reality is commercial reality.

What the DCJ changed was not the tension itself, it changed the quality of the conversation around it. Since four Proximus board members completed the programme, certain discussions now happen that simply did not happen before. Strategic partnerships are no longer assessed only on financial and legal merit; an ESG assessment has been added and is taken into account. "That is a direct consequence of the training board members received," Ben notes.

For executive members, the value is equally concrete. Knowing how a trained board member thinks: what questions they ask and what risks they see allows management to come better prepared. Sustainability is not presented as a separate agenda item, but as a structural lens. The legal, reputational, and risk dimensions sit in one place.

The bottom line, as both put it: the Director Climate Journey does not remove the tension between short and long term. It ensures that when the tension surfaces, organisations have the collective grounding to navigate it, and not simply default to what is easiest today.

Register for the upcoming edition of the Director Climate Journey, starting in September 2026

The Director Climate Journey is a fully in-person learning experience designed for board members who want to strengthen their strategic oversight, deepen their understanding of climate- and nature-related risks and opportunities, challenge assumptions more effectively, and navigate increasing complexity with confidence. 

If you would like to receive more information about the upcoming edition, feel free to get in touch at maxime.decordes@chapterzerobrussels.be.