Brussels · Transformation · Technology · Sustainability

Every business creates value.
But is it shared? Long-term? Measured beyond profit?

The Value Creation Compass helps leaders map where their business creates value — and where it quietly concentrates it. A diagnostic across six dimensions where the answer plays out.

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A bear gazing at stars
Our compass

Six dimensions, six stories, one direction.

Every company creates value — and, often without noticing, captures more than it shares. The question isn't moral, it's strategic: long term, the second behaviour costs more than it earns. Six dimensions where the trade-off plays out, illustrated by six companies that chose to share.

01
People & Profit
Patagonia

In 2022, Yvon Chouinard transferred 98% of Patagonia to an environmental collective and 2% (the voting shares) to a purpose trust. About $100M/year of dividends now flow to the planet rather than shareholders. On the same axis, Aetna raised its minimum wage to $16/h for 6,000 employees and measured the ROI on engagement.

Who captures the gains in your company — and does it hold up at 10 years?
02
Culture & Governance
Norsk Gjenvinning

Erik Osmundsen took over Norway's largest waste-handling group in 2012. He uncovered systemic corruption, enforced a zero-tolerance regime. 30 of the top 70 senior managers left in one year. The company emerged smaller, cleaner, and more profitable.

Who gets rewarded in your organisation — the one who creates value, or the one who manages dysfunction?
03
Pricing & Customer
Unilever Lipton

A commodity — tea — in a market locked in a price war. Michiel Leijnse convinced Unilever to commit to 100% sustainable tea. Immediate cost, long-term supply secured, 500,000 farmers trained, brand premium with younger consumers, competitors forced to follow.

Does your price optimise the transaction, or the relationship?
04
Supply chain & Ecosystem
Unilever Palm Oil

In 2008, Greenpeace called out Unilever on deforestation linked to palm oil. Rather than defend itself, Unilever committed to 100% sustainable palm oil and used its position as the world's largest buyer to drag the whole industry into the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.

Is your value chain structured to last, or to extract?
05
Planet & Resources
Ørsted

The first energy major in the world to complete a full green transition. 98% reduction in scope 1-2 emissions since 2006, 99% renewable generation, growing operating profit. Proof that the transition doesn't pit climate against profitability.

Does your physical model respect planetary limits — or externalise them?
06
Systems
Proton

Founded in Switzerland in 2014, Proton offers end-to-end encrypted email, VPN, drive and calendar under a non-profit foundation. Aligned business model: users pay, they aren't the product. Jurisdictional sovereignty, transparent practices, portable data by default — proof that a system can serve those who use it rather than those who exploit it.

Who do your digital tools really serve — management, or the people using them?

These six dimensions structure the Value Creation Compass, our strategic diagnostic tool. For an honest map of your model — no judgement, no prescription.

Take the free diagnostic → Let's talk →
The business case for sustainability

Five levers of value creation

The question is no longer why to do it, but how to monetise it. Five concrete levers, aligned with the research (McKinsey) and illustrated by companies that have pulled them.

01
Top-line growth
New products and services, access to B2B and B2C customers seeking sustainability, brand premium in saturated markets.
Unilever Lipton — 100% sustainable tea as a differentiator in a commodity market.
02
Cost reduction
Energy, water, waste, green taxation. Operational sobriety is no longer a cost — it's a measurable gain.
Interface — 89% reduction in water intensity, 46% energy efficiency gain over 25 years.
03
Regulatory frame
Subsidies, deductions, market access, CSRD anticipation. Companies ahead capture the flows; companies behind absorb the penalties.
Ørsted — major beneficiary of renewable tenders, full anticipation on energy transition.
04
Productivity & talent
Attraction and retention, engagement, employer brand. Shared value is also an HR asset.
Aetna — $16/h minimum wage, ~$20M/year, measured ROI on engagement and turnover.
05
Asset allocation
Long-term capex, stranded asset anticipation, access to patient capital. Capital markets reward the trajectory.
BlackRock / Larry Fink — capital flowing to firms that articulate their contribution to society.
Our conviction

A passion for balance.

We believe finding the right balance between the interests of all stakeholders — shareholders, employees, community, and ecosystem — will maximize benefits for all in the long term, including businesses. Our mission is to support companies and organizations to find this balance.

01
Purpose and profit reinforce each other
Companies that build positive impact into their operating model — not just their communications — build stronger, more resilient organizations over time.
02
Most companies are willing, but underserved
The gap isn’t intention — it’s translation. Too many advisors speak in frameworks. We work in concrete solutions, tailored to your context.
03
Evolution, not revolution
Lasting change is built through trust, quick wins, and genuine alignment — not perfect plans imposed from the top down.
04
The ecosystem multiplies impact
No organization changes the world alone. Building the right alliances and partnerships amplifies every unit of effort.
05
People are always the key
Culture, leadership, and individual empowerment make or break every transformation. Always.
Jean-Marc Bury
Director Transformation, Technology & Sustainability
Twenty years bridging technology and transformation.
Building teams, designing governance, coaching managers, growing long-term customer relationships — that’s the craft, and it’s also the subject of the book, Introverti et Manager ?
LinkedIn → The book →
What we do

From strategy to execution

We work alongside your team at every stage — combining strategic clarity, transformation experience, and operational know-how.

01

ESG & Impact Strategy

We co-create a strategy grounded in your ambitions, sector context, and regulatory environment. Pragmatic, human-centric, and built for execution — not just reporting.

02

Sustainable Digital Systems

We audit your digital stack the way we audit your value chain: who does it really serve, where does your data flow, what are the real practices behind the contracts? Twenty years of IT consulting applied to the systems that quietly shape your culture.

03

Operating Model & Governance

We build the structural conditions for success: clear governance, the right team design, realistic roadmaps, and processes that make positive impact repeatable.

04

Transformation Management

We lead or support transformation programs from the inside — managing complexity, building trust across teams, and turning strategic intent into daily reality.

05

ESG Standards & Frameworks

We help organizations navigate the ESG landscape — CSRD, B Corp, UN SDGs, EcoVadis, ISO and others — building genuine internal capability rather than box-ticking compliance.

06

Revenue & Business Model Innovation

We help diversify and strengthen revenue streams while staying true to purpose — identifying new opportunities and designing commercial approaches that hold up.

07

Ecosystem & Stakeholder Activation

We map your ecosystem, identify win-win opportunities up and downstream, and help build the alliances and platforms that multiply your impact.

Recent work

Missions delivered

Mobility · NGO

Fair & Transparent Pricing Strategy

Reviewed a full service catalog, identified new opportunities, redesigned the pricing approach, and established governance aligned with a fair-price philosophy.

Commercial framework balancing accessibility with financial sustainability.
Nonprofit

Revenue Stream Diversification

Audited existing revenue streams, designed a new commercial approach, identified untapped opportunities, and scoped a supporting technology solution.

New revenue strategy enabling greater mission independence.
Wellbeing

Commercial Transformation

Designed and supported the implementation of a new commercial approach, including stakeholder mapping, value proposition, and communication planning.

Strengthened go-to-market capability and clearer client proposition.
Food · Ecosystem

Digital Ecosystem Platform

Defined the vision and architecture for a digital platform connecting a multi-stakeholder food ecosystem, with governance design and implementation roadmap.

Platform blueprint enabling collaborative impact across the value chain.
Inspiring stories

Companies showing the way

The best proof that business can be a force for good is the companies already doing it. These stories are chosen to inspire — concrete examples of governance reinvention, B Corp leadership, and bold initiatives that others can learn from.

Governance

The Bel Group no longer has a CFO

The French food company behind Babybel and Laughing Cow replaced its CFO role with a Chief Financial & Impact Officer — formally unifying finance and sustainability at the top table.

A signal that separating profit from purpose is becoming structurally obsolete.
Healthcare

CNDG: A Belgian clinic leading on sustainability

The Clinique Notre Dame de Grâce in Charleroi, Belgium, achieved THQSE certification — a rigorous sustainability standard specific to the healthcare sector. A meaningful milestone showing that hospitals too can lead on social and environmental responsibility.

Impact is not reserved for tech companies or startups. Any organization, in any sector, can choose to lead.
Initiative

Patagonia gives away the company

Founder Yvon Chouinard transferred ownership to a trust and nonprofit dedicated to fighting climate change — ensuring all future profits serve the planet rather than shareholders.

The most radical proof that purpose-driven ownership is both possible and powerful.
B Corp

Danone: balancing scale and mission

Danone’s journey toward B Corp certification at scale — and the governance tensions it surfaced — is a masterclass in what embedding mission into a global public company truly demands.

Scale doesn’t prevent purpose — but it demands far more intentional governance.
Built-in

Salesforce and the 1-1-1 model

From day one, Salesforce dedicated 1% of equity, 1% of product, and 1% of employee time to public-interest causes. Over 18,000 companies in 130+ countries have joined Pledge 1%, generating more than $1 billion in cumulative value.

A generosity architecture built in from the founding. Easier to hold than ad-hoc philanthropy, because it's structural.
Get in touch

Ready to find your balance?

Whether you’re starting your sustainability journey, navigating a transformation, or simply looking for the right balance between performance and impact — let’s explore what’s possible together.

🔗
LinkedInJean-Marc Bury
📍
LocationBrussels, Belgium — working globally
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Value Creation Compass

Where does your model create value — and where does it concentrate it?

A short, honest map of your business across six dimensions. No email required to see your results. No prescription at the end — just a starting point for the conversations that matter.

13
Questions
6
Dimensions
~6
Minutes
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Your map

Six dimensions, one snapshot.

Total balance

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A first snapshot of where your model creates value, and where the next conversation could matter most.

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