Visibility
Gain exposure in De Tijd and L’Echo, Belgium’s leading business newspapers, both through featured articles and on the Changemakers website. Winners and top 30 nominees will receive widespread coverage that highlights their achievements, reaching a vast network of professionals, potential clients, and partners.

Recognition & credibility
Stand out as an industry leader in sustainable practices. Winning a Changemakers Award or being among the finalists validates a company’s commitment to sustainability and ESG standards, boosting credibility with clients, investors, and stakeholders.

Networking opportunities
Participate in the prestigious Changemakers Award Show, connecting with fellow sustainability leaders, innovators, and key industry players. This event is an excellent platform for sharing best practices, ideas, and potentially forming partnerships for future ventures.

Customer appeal
As the public’s awareness and preference for sustainable brands increase, being a Changemakers nominee or winner can make a strong impression on eco-conscious customers and differentiate your brand in the market.

Application process
Submit your entry before January 9, 2026 12:00 (CET), showcasing how your company is a changemaker in line with the ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) rules of the European Union. Your submission should demonstrate how your company or project contributes to a more sustainable future.
The participation fee for submitting a dossier is €490, excluding VAT. This fee covers the evaluation of your dossier by the University of Antwerp and includes two tickets to the Changemakers Award Show on April 21, 2026. Payment can be made online after submitting your dossier.

Nominee selection by University of Antwerp
After the entry period closes, experts from the University of Antwerp will evaluate all submissions. They will select 50 nominees based on a scoring grid that prioritizes key ESG factors.

Nominee selection by KPMG
In a second phase, these 50 companies will be audited by KPMG.  KPMG and experts from the editorial teams of De Tijd and L’Echo will select 30 nominees (the “30 for 2030”).

Evaluation by the jury
The professional jury will then review the 30 nominees using the scoring grid provided by the University of Antwerp, along with other criteria. The jury will narrow the selection to 6 finalists.

Audience Award voting
Subscribers of De Tijd and L’Echo will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite nominee from the top 30 for the Audience Award, allowing the public to influence the outcome.

Pitch to the jury
The 6 finalists will pitch their projects to the jury at the offices of De Tijd and L’Echo on March 31, 2026. After hearing the pitches, reviewing the submitted dossiers, and considering the scoring grid, the jury will select one winner in the ‘Established Companies’ category and one in the ‘Emerging Companies’ category.

Announcement of winners
The winners in all three categories (Established Companies, Emerging Companies, and the Audience Award) will be announced at the live Changemakers Awards event on April 21, 2026.

For more information, visit the Terms and Conditions page.

1. General
   1. Mediafin NV is a public limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of Belgium, having its office at Havenlaan 86C, box 309, 1000 Brussels (Belgium) and registered with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises under number 0404.800.301 (RLE Brussels, Dutch division) (“Mediafin”).
   2. Mediafin organizes a Changemakers awards competition as part of its annual event “Changemakers” (the “Competition”).
   3. These terms and conditions apply to the Competition. By registering and submitting a Competition entry, the Participant (as defined below) fully accepts and agrees to be bound by these terms.
2. Participants
   1. The Competition is open to Belgian legal entities having their registered office (zetel/siège) in Belgium (a “Participant”).
   2. A Competition entry must relate to an “environmentally sustainable” economic activity (as defined by the European Union) and in particular (1) climate change mitigation; (2) climate change adaptation; (3) sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources; (4) transition to a circular economy; (5) pollution prevention or control; and/or (6) protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems. In addition to the environmental impact, the jury will also evaluate the company’s social policies. Aspects such as social responsibility, labour practices, diversity and inclusion, employee well-being, and community engagement will be considered and will contribute to the final scores.
   3. There is a limit of one Competition entry per Participant. Entries on behalf of another company or joint submissions are not allowed.
   4. If Mediafin (for whatever reason) believes that a Participant does not comply with these terms, it may disqualify the Participant. The same applies for abuse, deception, fraud, or bad faith.
   5. The award winners of the last edition of the Competition cannot apply or submit again for this edition of Changemakers.
3. Entry
   1. Entry process
      1. To participate in the Competition, the Participant must register through www.changemakers.be (the “Website”), answer an online questionnaire, submit a dossier and pay the entry fee before January  92026 12:00 (CET). Any entries received after the closing date will be disregarded.
      2. Mediafin may reject any incomplete, incorrect, or inappropriate submissions. Only valid, complete entries will be considered for evaluation.
      3. During the entry process, the Participant may upload any documents (including, but not limited to, videos, PDF documents, and presentations) which it deems necessary. The attachments included in the application will only be seen as additional information and will not be considered when evaluating the Participant. The evaluation will be based solely on the information provided in the application form on the Website and, if applicable, on the oral defense in front of the jury.
      4. Once submitted, the Competition entry is final. Participants do not have the right to modify or complete their entry after its submission.
   2. Payment
      1. Each Participant shall pay a non-refundable entry fee of €490 (excluding VAT).
      2. Each submission includes two tickets to the Changemakers awards show, which will take place on April 21, 2026. These tickets allow you to attend the event during which the winners will be announced.
      3. The payment is to be made online after completing the questionnaire and submitting all the required information. An invoice will be available after the payment is completed. Please note that your submission will only be considered once the payment has been successfully processed.
   3. Miscellaneous
      1. The Competition is exclusively in English. All answers and all documents in the dossier should be in English.
      2. More information, including a detailed Competition timeline, can be found on the Website.
      3. For more information or help with a Competition entry, the Participant can contact Mediafin by email (info@changemakers.be).
4. Winners
   1. Mediafin will categorize the Participants into two groups based on the online questionnaire:
      1. the first category is the category of the “Established Companies” (i.e. legacy companies performing a transformative track towards a visible/measurable impact).
      2. the second category is the category of the “Emerging Companies” (i.e. start- or scale-ups performing a highly promising track towards visible/measurable impact).
   2. For each category, the winner of the Competition will be selected by an independent and objective expert jury. The jury members for the Competition are mentioned on the Website. The jury shall vote by majority.
   3. The Participant’s entry will be evaluated based on the online questionnaire. In selecting the two winners, the jury shall consider, amongst others, the following criteria: innovation, entrepreneurship, measurability, proven impact, scalability, and potential for internationalization and commercialization.
   4. The jury prize winners will be chosen in three phases:
      1. in a first phase, experts from the University of Antwerp will select 50 nominees amongst the Participants;
      2. in a second phase, these 50 companies will be audited by KPMG and experts from the editorial teams of De Tijd and L’Echo and KPMG will select 30 nominees (the “30 for 2030”);
      3. In a third phase, the jury will select and invite three nominees from each category to orally defend their submission; and
      4. in a fourth phase, the jury will select one winner per category.
   5. In addition, the subscribers of De Tijd and L’Echo will also choose one winner amongst the 30 nominees. In the case of equal votes, the jury will choose the audience winner based on the abovementioned criteria.
   6. The decisions of Mediafin, the jury, the experts of the University of Antwerp and KPMG are final, binding and non-appealable.
   7. Mediafin will announce the winners during the aforementioned award show. The winners of the Competition will receive a Changemakers award at this award show.
5. Participant data
   1. The Participant represents and warrants to Mediafin that the documents and information it uploads during the entry process (the “Participant Data”) do not infringe the intellectual property rights or other legal rights of any person, and will not breach the provisions of any law, statute or regulation, in any jurisdiction and under any applicable law. The Participant is solely liable and responsible for the accuracy and correctness of the Participant Data and shall remain the owner of the Participant Data.
   2. By participating in the Competition, the Participant grants, free of charge to Mediafin and its partners a non-exclusive and irrevocable license to copy, reproduce, store, distribute, publish (e.g. in newspapers, online, on social media), export, adapt, edit and translate the Participant Data in the context of the Changemakers event (organization, promotion).
6. GDPR
   1. The Participant represents and warrants to Mediafin that it has the legal right to disclose any personal data that it makes available to Mediafin under or in connection with the Competition. Mediafin shall process the Participant’s personal data in accordance with the applicable laws relating to the processing of personal data including, the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) (“GDPR”) and the privacy policy made available on the Website.
7. Liability
   1. Mediafin reserves the right (i) to suspend or to cancel the Competition and (ii) to amend the Competition (e.g. the timeline and/or the composition of the jury) and/or these terms if and to the extent that it becomes reasonably necessary to do so, without any liability (it being understood that in the event of a cancellation of the Competition by Mediafin the entry fees will be refunded).
   2. Mediafin shall not be liable for Competition submissions that are lost, damaged, or delayed, regardless of its cause, or for Competition submissions that are not successfully completed due to an equipment failure, technical malfunction, systems, satellite, network, server, computer hardware, or software failure of any kind.
   3. To the maximum extent permitted by law:
      1. Mediafin shall not, in any circumstances, be liable for any losses or damages arising from the Participant’s registration, submission and/or participation to the Competition except (i) in case of fraud, deceit, deliberate fault or fraudulent misrepresentation on behalf of Mediafin or (ii) in case of personal injury or death caused by its negligence;
      2. In the event that the above liability exclusion would be deemed invalid, Mediafin’s liability shall in any case be limited (i) to direct damages only (excluding any indirect or consequential damages such as (but not limited to) reputational damages, loss of revenue, loss of profits and time and effort invested in the Competition) and (ii) to an amount equal to the entry fee paid by the Participant; and
      3. Without prejudice to the above, Participants cannot bring an extra-contractual claim against Mediafin or an (indirect) auxiliary person of Mediafin (e.g. the jury members or KMPG) for damages caused in the context of the Competition. Only a contractual claim by the Participant against Mediafin is possible for such damages, if any.
8. Complaints
   1. Complaints about the Competition must be sent to Mediafin by email to (info@changemakers.be) within seven working days following the award show. Under no circumstances shall verbal complaints or complaints by telephone be accepted. Complaints submitted after the due date shall also not be accepted.
9. Applicable law and jurisdiction
   1. The Competition and these terms are governed by Belgian law.
   2. Any dispute in relation to the Competition which cannot be settled amicably shall be brought before the competent courts of Brussels, Dutch division.