In April, GreenFlux took part in the Dutch CIO Magazine Innovation Awards programme, organised by ICT Media, the publisher of CIO Magazine. We were selected in the category ‘Most Innovative Ecosystem’ with our EVC-ISAC case, competing against fellow nominees Nouryon, Rijkswaterstaat and FrieslandCampina. Unfortunately (spoiler alert!), we didn’t win. Yet, we had a fantastic ride. Here’s our story.
What are the CIO Magazine Innovation Awards?
The CIO Magazine Innovation Awards are an initiative of ICT Media. The awards are designed to ‘reward and encourage innovative projects among both suppliers and buyers in the field of IT’ in the Netherlands. With the awards, they aim to promote ‘a collaborative and innovative mindset’ in the Dutch IT ecosystem.
The CIO Magazine Innovation Awards cover three categories:
- Most Innovative Leader
- Most Innovative Ecosystem
- Most Innovative Start-up/Scale-up/Challenger
What was the GreenFlux project that got nominated?
Most importantly, we emphasised that this project wasn’t only ours. It’s a true collaboration across the entire EV charging value chain.
In October 2024, GreenFlux was one of eight founding members of the Dutch EVC-ISAC. This is a collaborative trade group where EV charging infrastructure participants collaborate in a secure environment to share best practices, actual cyber threats, security measures and incident reporting.
Many attendees praised us that the EVC-ISAC members regularly share secure cybersecurity-related information with peers AND competitors.
The initiative was inspired by the EU NIS2 Directive, which enforces the assessment of current cybersecurity measures, the set-up of robust security policies and the creation of a reporting structure for organisations in ‘critical infrastructure’. The EV charging infrastructure was identified as a ‘critical infrastructure’ that is vital to society and the economy.
The EVC-ISAC provides a safe and trusted environment where participants can exchange confidential information about threats, vulnerabilities, and other cybersecurity-related incidents.
How did GreenFlux get nominated for the CIO Magazine Innovation Awards 2025?
GreenFlux Information Security Manager Ali Marvi has been a driving force behind the initiative from GreenFlux's point of view, together with former GreenFlux Managing Director Rutger Plantenga.
To get the submission started, ICT Media asked for a brief description of the project in Round One. In Round Two, we further explained the challenge that the project solved, the solution that GreenFlux created, the results of the ecosystem project and the investments made to make it succeed.
After being selected for the final round, Ali Marvi presented the case to the award jury in a 5-minute presentation and Q&A afterwards. During the Innovation Summit, our security information manager, Ali, again had to present the case. This time, he had to present the case to the event participants, so they could also cast their vote. And finally, the winners were announced during a dinner show where more C-level executives joined the event for networking and catching up with industry peers.
Who were the winners of the CIO Innovation Awards 2025?
In the end, we didn’t win the Most Innovative Ecosystem award. You can find an overview of all the winners in this ICT Media article (in Dutch). However, we did get positive feedback!
Many attendees praised us for the fact that the EVC-ISAC members share secure cybersecurity-related information with competitors on a regular basis. Furthermore, we were successful in bringing attention to cybersecurity as a whole, but also in getting free publicity for our cause and our company.
All in all, the CIO Magazine Innovation Awards have been a great ride! We ensured that cybersecurity is an important topic for any business in any industry. We also inspired other organisations to seek collaboration to truly have a huge impact on your organisation and industry as a whole. And who knows, we might receive more submissions for joining the EVC-ISAC. The more the merrier!
