Dirk Mattys and Elise Van De Putte

Elise and Dirk about the new emissions dashboard | Arxus

testimonial

From idea to impact: how Elise and Dirk make sustainability tangible together

When Sustainability Manager Dirk (Arxus) and Data Analyst Elise (Cloubis) met at a Microsoft event focused on sustainability, there was an immediate connection. Both in terms of interests and mindset. “At Cloubis, I’m the only one who’s actively working on sustainability,” Elise explains. “It was refreshing to meet someone from our parent company Arxus, who was equally passionate about it.” Their shared enthusiasm proved to be the perfect breeding ground for a new idea: an emissions dashboard that provides insight and drives action.

Tue, 14 April 2026

Elien Mertens

Human Resources Officer, Arxus

One idea, one team, one goal

The need for a better view on carbon emissions didn’t come out of nowhere. “At Arxus, we’ve been working hard on integrating sustainability into our broader data story”, Dirk explains. “Treating it not as a separate silo but embedding it in our organization’s DNA and in the way we do business.” At the same time, our customers have been increasingly asking us about their cloud consumption and the emissions related to it, partly due to European reporting requirements.

That’s how the idea for our emissions dashboard was born: a solution that captures carbon footprint data, brings together different scopes, and translates them into understandable insights instead of plain numbers. This way, sustainability instantly becomes much more concrete and tangible, providing answers to questions like: How many flights does this level of emissions actually correspond to? Or on a smaller scale, how many hours of charging an iPhone?

Innovating by building together

What makes this collaboration unique is how naturally it evolved: instead of being a tightly defined project from day one, it turned into a journey of testing and adjusting our ideas. “Turning an idea into something truly impactful means taking a leap, experimenting and conquering obstacles together,” says Dirk. “And above all: getting the time and space to do so.”

One of the biggest challenges? Connecting the right data to the right source. “Sometimes it was surprisingly hard to get a clear picture,” Elise laughs. Calculating emissions in a complex public cloud environment isn’t always straightforward, especially when transparency from suppliers varies. Then I called Thijs, who brought in Thierry and Ken. And before we knew it, there were six people gathered around the table. Everyone contributed. That made a world of difference.” It perfectly illustrates how both teams strengthen each other: Cloubis with strong data expertise, Arxus with years of experience in IT strategy and their ardent innovative spirit.

Elise Van De Putte, Data Analyst

You really get the space to bring creative ideas to life. But the best part about this project? How helpful everyone has been.

More than a dashboard

Het emissiedashboard helpt Arxus om duurzaamheid te verankeren in de The emissions dashboard helps Arxus embed sustainability into the core of its strategy, rather than treating it as a separate initiative. By making emissions data visual, measurable, and transparent, sustainability becomes something you can actively manage. It also makes the importance Arxus attaches to this topic tangible within the organization. “You don’t just show that you’re working on it, you prove it,” Dirk says.

But the real impact will lie with our customers. The dream? That businesses take matters into their own hands, thanks to these insights. not just for reporting purposes, but for meaningful impact. “If our customers are inspired to effectively reduce their footprint, then this project has achieved its purpose,” says Elise. “Every decrease in emissions is a victory.”

Dirk Mattys, Sustainability Manager

Our dashboard makes sustainability visible, understandable and actionable. And that’s exactly how small ideas can evolve into tangible impact.

A first step with big ambitions

With this project, Arxus and Cloubis are taking an important step forward. As one of the first CSPs to approach sustainability in this way, they show how innovation can start from an idea and grow into real change.