Guaranteed Irish: Blacknight’s local commitment with global impact

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a broad concept that encompasses ecological, social and governance aspects. What efforts is Blacknight Solutions making in this area? 

Michele Neylon (CEO): 'Every business, every organisation is part of society and exists within a specific community. In our case, that community is Carlow, a small town in the south-east of Ireland. At the same time, we are a fairly major player within the Irish internet community, with customers all over the world. However, the majority of our employees come from the local region, making us part of both the international community and the local community. That's why we believe it's important to give something back locally, too.' 

Chloe Murray (Customer Success Manager): ‘Recently, for instance, our team helped to clean up rubbish along the local river as part of the Big Ocean Cleanup.’ 

Michele: 'We have been sponsoring ‘The Outing’ a local LGBTQI+ festival for years and we also support IndieCork, a festival for independent filmmakers. In terms of the environment, we invest in solar panels and charging stations for electric cars. We work with local beekeepers and make our infrastructure and facilities available for the training courses they organise. Of course, we also try to reduce the impact of our data centres. All these actions help to give our employees the feeling that they are contributing to something bigger than just making a profit. That's not to say that Blacknight Solutions shouldn't be profitable and doesn't want to continue to grow. But the difference between company A and company B often lies in their vision and values in terms of CSR."  

Which projects is Blacknight Solutions particularly proud of, and how do they fit into your broader vision of corporate social responsibility? 

Michele: 'Much of what we do fits naturally with who we are as an organisation. When we support LGBTQI+ initiatives, it is entirely in line with our values and my personal vision as CEO – which is sometimes quite outspoken, I admit. It’s important to clearly show what you stand for as a company.' 

‘We also like to support local projects that have a positive impact. So, if the youth football team needs new shirts, for example, we are happy to help them. Just like IndieCork, these are initiatives that we find genuinely valuable. Sponsoring these things gives us visibility in our local region – that's also important to us, and we would be hypocritical to claim that it isn’t.’ 

Does this mean that you actively communicate about your CSR efforts? 

Michele: ‘We like to share our initiatives on social media and our blog and at events such as IndieCork, local media sometimes pick up on them. This generates positive publicity and strengthens our reputation. Customers occasionally mention it to us, too, but it's not something that comes up very often.’ 

Are these efforts part of a broader CSR strategy? 

Michele: ‘We don't have a meticulously detailed CSR strategy or hard targets, but many of our initiatives stem from a broader vision: a company should do more than just make a profit. It may sound vague, but we want to give something back to society.’  

‘Sustainability is also becoming increasingly important, both for our customers, who ask about our ‘green credentials’, and for our employees, who want to work for an organisation that is making an impact. That’s why we have joined the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact. We ensure that old hardware is disposed of and recycled correctly, we have made our data centre as energy-efficient as possible, and the lighting in our offices uses motion sensors to limit consumption. These are all practical steps which demonstrate that sustainability is not just a side issue for us, but an integral part of the way we work." 

How do you engage your employees? 

Chloe: ‘Employees can participate in initiatives on a voluntary basis, such as the Big Ocean Cleanup already mentioned, which we recently took part in again. Often, though, the ideas or initiatives come directly from our people. And we notice that they can always reflect positively on the value their participation has had afterwards.’ 

What is your personal motivation for focusing on CSR and sustainability? 

Michele: ‘In the past, many of Blacknight’s initiatives came directly from me and I was mainly motivated by what concerned me personally. Nowadays, my colleague Chloe takes more of a leading role. She knows what is possible and what is not, and is given the space to develop projects.’ 

What advice would you give to other registrars who want to strengthen their CSR efforts? 

Michele: 'Start small and don't make it too complicated. Do things that suit your company and talk to your employees. Maybe the local football team needs new shirts, or you can help keep a park clean. Something like that – it doesn't necessarily have to cost a lot of money, but we like to think it makes a positive contribution to the community.'