As Helios Foundation was officially presented in Brussels, De Tijd and La Libre Belgique spoke

with Managing Director Luc Lallemand and President Bernard De Cannière. Both papers focused on the foundation’s founding idea: the “global burnout” described by Belgian philosopher Pascal Chabot.

Two burnouts, two missions

The foundation’s first mission is to decarbonise the Belgian economy. The second is to improve mental wellbeing at work.

“This way we tackle a double global burnout: that of the planet and that of working people.” – Luc Lallemand, CEO

Leverage over volume

Even an endowment of close to 300 million euros cannot decarbonise Belgium on its own, De Cannière told La Libre. Helios therefore backs projects with a multiplier effect, through scientific research, philanthropy and impact investing. Impact is measured with one ratio: tonnes of CO₂ avoided or captured per euro invested. “The right ratio? The maximum!” says Lallemand.

“As a foundation, we have no economic return objective. Yet it is becoming difficult to find funding very early in a project’s life cycle. That is exactly the risk we want to be able to take with the money we give.” – Bernard De Cannière, President

Both papers also highlighted that Helios works across the language border, with joint projects between Flemish and French-speaking universities such as ULB and VUB.

The call for decarbonisation projects (€2-3 million per project) is open until 16 June. A call on mental wellbeing at work will follow next year.

Read the full articles in De Tijd and La Libre Belgique.