Our two strategic pillars—standard usage and standard development—remained at the core of our activities. On the standards usage side, the emphasis was on improving processes and optimizing the user experience. Within the helpdesk and transactional sales, internal working methods were reviewed and organized more efficiently, with the aim of providing faster and more consistent support to customers. The standards platform was also further refined with functionalities that offer greater clarity and certainty to users and administrators.
Belgium remained active and involved in standards development. More than 3,000 experts worked together in national committees on standards that respond to technological developments and societal challenges. Cooperation with sectoral operators was further deepened and supported by new digital tools, including the NBN Experts Portal.
Sustainability was given a prominent place in our operations in 2025. New committees, international involvement, and the event "A Journey to Sustainability: The Power of Standards" helped to clarify the link between voluntary standards and sustainable goals.
In addition, we continued to invest in knowledge sharing, training, and events, with a particular focus on quality and continuous improvement.
This annual report provides an overview of the most important developments and results of 2025. It shows how NBN continues to build a stable and future-oriented framework for standards use and development in Belgium — in collaboration with experts, organizations, and partners.
In 2025, NBN made a firm decision to further enhance the customer experience. Customer satisfaction is systematically monitored through an annual Customer Satisfaction Survey and serves as a direct performance indicator for our operations.
The overall satisfaction score rose from 81.4% in 2024 to 83.8% in 2025 — confirming that targeted improvement measures are having a real impact. Clear progress was also made within various customer segments. The focus was on simplification and reliability. The Helpdesk and transactional sales streamlined their workflows, providing customers with faster, more consistent, and more transparent support.
The NBN standards portal has also been further refined. In doing so, we were not only guided by technical possibilities, but also actively listened to what our customers need and what they still lacked. With this direct input as our compass, the portal was optimized with one clear objective: to make the use of standards even easier. Improved access options, automatic notifications, clearer team management, and more comprehensive reporting give standards users more control and less administrative uncertainty.
The strategic choice was clear: no expansion for the sake of expansion, but targeted optimization based on customer feedback. Less complexity, more transparency, and a more efficient way of working with standards.
In 2025, NBN continued to develop strong Belgian standardization based on close cooperation between experts, sector operators, and other stakeholders. The work integrates technological developments and new, emerging areas so that standards remain relevant and tailored to the needs of different sectors.
At the end of 2025, Belgium had 3,177 experts actively involved in the work of 716 national standards committees. Their commitment contributes directly to the development of standards that have a concrete impact on numerous economic and social activities.
Sectoral operators play a central role within the Belgian standardization system. Thanks to their strong roots in the sectors, they form the bridge between NBN and economic reality.
They identify, mobilize, and guide experts within the national committees and actively participate in their management. This collaboration ensures broad support for the standards developed and strengthens the coherence of standardization work in Belgium.
2025 was marked by the launch of the NBN Experts Portal, a new digital platform that supports and simplifies the participation of experts in standards development.
The portal provides a centralized access point for all experts, including for consulting standards inread-only mode. Sectoral operators have specific functionalities at their disposal via this platform to manage their experts.
The NBN Experts Portal is part of a broader approach to continuous improvement. The platform is being further developed based on feedback from sector operators and experts, with the aim of further enhancing the efficiency and user-friendliness of the processes.
In 2025, NBN sponsored and participated in 12 events organized by sectoral operators. These initiatives strengthened NBN's visibility and proximity to the various sectors.
In addition, several workshops and training courses were organized, supplementing the Experts Training, which is offered three times a year. These actions aim to strengthen the competencies of experts and improve their experience within the standardization process, including through the use of new tools such as Online Standards Development (OSD).
In 2025, emphasis was once again placed on the added value of standards in the transition to sustainability.
NBN launched two specific committees on:
At the same time, NBN continued to proactively defend the interests of Belgian market players within European and international standardization. Belgian committees were actively guided in areas including:
In addition, NBN hosted a week-long plenary meeting of CEN/TC 473, the European technical committee responsible for developing European standards on the circular economy.
In November, NBN organized the public event "A Journey to Sustainability: The Power of Standards," which used real-life testimonials to demonstrate how standards support companies and organizations in their sustainable transition and what broader social impact they can have.
In November 2025, NBN organized the public event 'A Journey to Sustainability: The Power of Standards'. The aim was to highlight the link between standards and the achievement of sustainability goals.
Standards support organizations in achieving sustainability goals and developing coherent internal policies, but are often still seen as bureaucratic or imposed. The event aimed to change this perception and show that standards are practical tools to which companies, organizations, and other stakeholders can actively contribute through standard development.
During the event, experts and companies shared their experiences of participating in committees and applying standards in practice. This made it clear how standard development not only responds to social challenges, but is also open to anyone who wants to contribute to the content of future standards, including in the context of the upcoming Circular Economy Act.
With this initiative, NBN wanted to contribute to a better understanding of standards as a lever for sustainable transition and as a participatory process.
In 2025, NBN's events contributed significantly to the visibility of the organisation to a better understanding of standards and standards development. The focus was on a more structured and professional way of communicating, with attention to content quality and clear positioning.
organisation are organisation according organisation a continuous improvement approach. Each edition is evaluated and adjusted where necessary, with a focus on content, speakers, infrastructure, and participant experience. Among other things, this approach has led to a further strengthening of the annual NBN Thank You Event, with a greater presence of experts and sectoral operators.
The webinars were also further expanded in 2025. A total of 17 webinars were organized to support standard development, sales, and public support. These webinars registered 557 registrations and 371 participants. In addition to refining the content, the entire participant experience was optimized, from registration to follow-up, including automatic distribution of presentations and recordings.
NBN did not limit itself to its own initiatives. NBN speakers actively participated in events organized by partners such as UNIZO, Agoria, Laborama, Xelyo, and Fireforum. In this way, standards and the standard development process were also explained and discussed outside of NBN's own channels.
Through these various initiatives, NBN continues to focus on knowledge sharing, dialogue, and engagement with sectors and stakeholders.
In 2025, NBN continued to focus on strengthening knowledge about standards within education. The Edu portal is an important gateway for students, researchers, and teachers.
During the 2024-2025 academic year, the Edu portal registered 4,592 unique users. The largest group consisted of higher education students (2,784 users), followed by researchers (514) and professors or lecturers (434). Secondary education is also represented by teachers and students.
In terms of fields of study, users were mainly affiliated with civil engineering (1,606) and industrial engineering (1,287) programs, in addition to other disciplines such as architecture, sciences, and bioengineering.
The Edu portal thus contributes to the integration of standards into technical and academic education and supports students in preparing for a professional context in which standards play an important role.
In 2025, NBN received 56 entries for the NBN Sustainability Award. With this award, NBN aims to encourage students to focus on sustainability and the role that standards can play in technological and societal transitions in their final projects.
During the ceremony on November 27, Indy Verheyen, a graduate of the Bachelor's program in Wood Technology at HOGENT, was announced as the winner of the 2025 edition. In his thesis , "From firewood to building block: the unexpected power of poplar," he explored the potential of locally harvested poplar wood as a sustainable building material.
The winner received a check for €1,500 to support his further work in sustainable research. The three other finalists were also honored and each received an incentive bonus of €500.
With the Sustainability Award, NBN emphasizes the importance of young researchers in the debate on sustainability and the development of future-oriented solutions.
In 2025, NBN's training offering was further structured and expanded. The training courses support organizations in the correct and thoughtful application of standards within their operations.
The courses on ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001 have been restructured. The previous master track structure has been replaced by a three-level training program:
This structure makes it possible to better tailor training courses to the knowledge level and role of the participant within the organisation.
In 2025, a new Explorer on ISO/IEC 27001 was launched. This course was developed in three languages (Dutch, French, and English) and was created in collaboration with internal experts.
The French-language training offering was further expanded. For example, training courses on ISO/IEC 17025 are now also organized in Gembloux. This allows NBN to increase the accessibility of its training courses for organizations in Wallonia.
With these developments, NBN continues to focus on knowledge building and professional support in the use of standards.
In November 2025, the NBN Thank You Event took place at The Mix in Brussels. With this annual event, NBN thanks the experts and sectoral operators who are committed to standards development in Belgium.
The event brings together representatives from various sectors and highlights the importance of their voluntary work within the national committees. Their contribution is an essential pillar of the Belgian standardization system.
During the event, various experts were once again recognized for their exceptional dedication and commitment. The NBN Awards 2025 were presented to:
In addition, the meeting provided an opportunity for exchange between experts, sectoral operators, and NBN.
Standards are also a crucial cornerstone for our own operation. NBN has again been certified for ISO 9001 (quality management) and ISO 27001 (information security). We continue to work on smooth service delivery and ensure our information systems are properly secured.
