Belgium · An Industry 5.0 Think Tank & Research Institute

Research, methodology and responsible innovation support.

Sustainable Intelligence is a Belgium-based nonprofit think tank and research institute advancing Industry 5.0. We develop evidence-informed frameworks, conduct interdisciplinary research, and convene researchers, policymakers, businesses and communities to advance human-centred, sustainable and resilient innovation. Through i5Benchmark, the World Industry 5.0 Forum and our assessment and advisory services, we connect research with practice.

Explore our services →Discuss a collaboration →

Our roles

Two parts of one research institute.

Sustainable Intelligence develops the ideas, evidence and frameworks; SUSTIN C.I.C. builds the technology and products that put them into practice.

Research & Standards

i5Benchmark ↗
The ASBL develops i5Benchmark: the Framework, Charter v2.0 and Methodology v2.0, and benchmarking research.
Observatory ↗
Challenges, responses and solutions from public sources, with their source, place and time.
Public consultation →
Charter v2.0 and Methodology v2.0 are open for public consultation.
World Industry 5.0 Forum ↗
Initiated and led by the ASBL.
Scientific & Standardization Committee ↓
Being formed after the adoption of Charter v2.0 and Methodology v2.0.

Assessment & Services

Advisory services ↓
Research and advisory services, each scoped around a defined question and the relevant evidence.
Assessment and rating →
Evidence Assessment by Sustainable Intelligence, Industry 5.0 Rating by Sustainable Intelligence and ESG Ratings by Sustainable Intelligence, all in development. No rating has been issued.
i5Certification →
A planned certification scheme owned by the ASBL. No certificate has been issued.

Programmes & services

Choose the support your next decision needs.

Explore focused services for responsible innovation, sustainability evidence, research validation and sustainable finance. Each engagement is scoped around a defined question, relevant evidence and practical deliverables.

Industry 5.0 Readiness and Responsible Innovation Roadmapping

Decide what to improve first as your technology moves towards responsible scale-up. Connect human experience, sustainability and resilience evidence with product decisions, implementation priorities and a practical 90-day action roadmap.

Organisations of any size or sector seeking to understand Industry 5.0 readiness, responsible innovation or transformation priorities. Typical innovation stage: TRL 4–9.

Explore the review and roadmap →

Sustainability and Standards Interoperability Mapping

Understand which sustainability frameworks and customer or investor information requests are relevant to your organisation. Map existing evidence to those needs, identify gaps and reduce duplicated information gathering.

Organisations of any size or sector seeking support with compliance-related information requirements, sustainability reporting or risk exposure. Typical innovation stage: TRL 4–9.

Explore standards mapping →

Evidence-Based Innovation Impact Research and Validation Planning

Design the evidence needed to investigate an innovation’s expected impact. Develop testable questions, suitable indicators and pilot protocols, including coordination with project coordinators and work-package leads in collaborative research.

Organisations of any size or sector seeking to investigate, substantiate or evaluate the impact of innovations, projects or programmes. Typical innovation stage: TRL 2–6.

Explore impact validation planning →

Sustainable Finance and Evidence Readiness

Prepare and examine the evidence behind sustainability and transition claims. Support issuers, financial institutions and project teams with KPI evidence, reporting readiness and a clear record of gaps and uncertainties.

Organisations of any size or sector preparing or assessing sustainability and transition evidence for financing, investment or reporting decisions.

Explore sustainable finance support →

Interest list: Preparing Credible Impact Evidence for Investors and Customers →

What we do

From research to responsible implementation.

Research & Methodology

Industry 5.0 research, indicator development, methodology validation, evidence studies and applied research programmes.

We investigate how human-centricity, sustainability, resilience, responsible innovation and accountability can be translated into credible evidence and practical methods.

ResearchEvidencePractice

Innovation Support

Deep-tech evidence review, responsible innovation assessment, standards and interoperability readiness, and human-centred, sustainability and resilience analysis.

We help innovation teams examine whether strong technical performance is supported by equally credible evidence about people, environmental impact, resilience and governance.

Pilot & Programme Support

Research-to-implementation pilots, evidence-framework design, programme evaluation, learning systems and capacity building.

We work with institutions and programmes that need a structured way to connect objectives, implementation evidence, stakeholder experience and learning.

Institutional & Standardisation Collaboration

Standards, policy, universities, public programmes, research consortia and international knowledge exchange.

We collaborate across research, industry, public institutions, finance and standardisation to strengthen the practical development of Industry 5.0.

The ASBL develops the i5Benchmark Methodology, is developing Evidence Assessment by Sustainable Intelligence, Industry 5.0 Rating by Sustainable Intelligence and ESG Ratings by Sustainable Intelligence, and owns the planned i5Certification scheme. No rating or certificate has been issued.

Experience

Professional foundations and institutional milestones

A timeline of the professional practice, research and institutional collaboration informing our work today.

2009–2018
Founder’s prior professional experience
Urban and spatial sustainability practice
Early professional work in urban and spatial development informs the present focus on people, place and implementation.
2019–2022
Prior professional experience
Sustainability and technology entrepreneurship
Forums and cross-sector initiatives connected sustainability, technology and entrepreneurship.
2021
Collaboration
EU IURC collaboration
An exhibition on sustainability and innovation was developed with the EU IURC programme.
2022
Research cooperation MOU
UPM research cooperation
An MOU with Universidad Politécnica de Madrid established a basis for research cooperation.
2022–present
Research and methodology
Industry 5.0 and interoperability research
Research connects responsible transformation with evidence and cross-framework interpretation.
2026
Research and development milestone
i5Benchmark and challenge intelligence
Framework development and public-source challenge observation provide a basis for applied evidence work.
i5Benchmark Framework →Observatory →

Connected practice

Institutional participation & professional capacity

Institutional

European Commission Industry 5.0 Community of Practice ↗
Sustainable Intelligence ASBL has been admitted to the European Commission’s Industry 5.0 Community of Practice (CoP 5.0) as a private research institution.
UN SDG Acceleration Action — i5Benchmark ↗
i5Benchmark has been reviewed and approved for publication by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) on the UN SDG Actions Platform as SDG Acceleration Action #SDGAction49212.
ICMA Principles Observer ↗
Participation in the ICMA Principles community connects our Industry 5.0 and evidence-methodology work with evolving sustainable-finance practice, including transparency, disclosure and the evidence supporting environmental and social claims.

Expert capacity

Professional capacities held by contributing experts inform our research and specialist support.

ISO-related standardisation through NBN Belgium
Expert participation in standardisation relevant to Industry 5.0 and organisational resilience.
Green Assist Senior Expert capacity
Specialist expert capacity for eligible innovation and sustainable-finance contexts through the programme’s expert-allocation process.

Governance

How the institute is governed.

Board

The ASBL is governed by its board under its statutes and Belgian law. Charter v2.0 and Methodology v2.0 of the i5Benchmark Framework were adopted on 25 October 2026 for the formation phase.

Scientific & Standardization Committee

Being formed after the adoption of Charter v2.0 and Methodology v2.0. Both documents are open for public consultation and subject to ratification by the Committee, which may confirm or revise them.

Documents & versions on i5benchmark.com ↗

Call for experts

We invite researchers and practitioners from academia, industry, technology, sustainability, finance, public policy, cities and standardisation to contribute to the Scientific & Standardization Committee: reviewing definitions, evidence requirements and indicators, and testing them across different contexts.

Join the Committee on i5benchmark.com ↗Express interest →

Start a conversation

Connect your next challenge with our research.

Discuss a collaboration →Explore ASBL services →

Contact & collaboration

[email protected] · Sustainable Intelligence ASBL · Belgium

Research, specialist support and programme collaborations are agreed with the ASBL through arrangements specific to each engagement.

Our mission and organisational structure →