Society is continuing to digitise at a high pace and with this growing digitisation come certain responsibilities. For instance, end users need to be mindful of their online safety and of others, as well as the ecological impact of the use of digital tools and the internet.
Organisations that make the digital society possible, such as registries, registrars , internet providers, etc. might even have a greater impact. For years, DNS Belgium has taken numerous initiatives to ensure its operations are CSR compliant and, secondly, to minimise its environmental footprint.
We wanted to know how sustainable the efforts of .be-registrars are.
How sustainable are .be-registrars?
In total, we looked at 226 .be registrars based on publicly available information about their sustainability policies or initiatives. The results show inspirational examples but also considerable room for improvement.
- 80 percent of .be-registrars does not list any sustainability efforts on their website whatsoever. This doesn’t necessarily mean they're aren't doing anything. It’s quite possible they're going to great lengths, but haven’t made their efforts public (yet). Not all companies are aware of what they’re already doing in terms of sustainability and don’t communicate about it.
- 7 percent mentions basic or ad hoc initiatives (such as green energy or sponsoring charities).
- 13 percent actively communicates about ESG initiatives (Environmental, Social, Governance) or has a clear strategy online.
- Most efforts concern Environment and fewer concern Social or Governance.
These figures show there is still room for growth. At the same time, there are great examples, both large and small of registrars that are leading the way in terms of sustainability.
Inspirational examples from the sector
Although major players such as Telenet and Combell have extensive ESG strategies, it's not only the market leaders making a difference. Other registrars also undertake to create a more sustainable digital world.
- Van Roey Automation (BE), in the same way as DNS Belgium, uses the VCDO programme (VOKA Charter for Sustainable Entrepreneurship) and is committed to a climate-neutral office powered by renewable energy. They take numerous actions to promote staff wellbeing and support community initiatives and were recognised as an SDG Pioneer for their efforts.
- Kinamo NV (BE) ties its ESG vision to the United Nations SDGs and invests in energy-efficient hosting and educational projects.
- Lexsynergy Limited (UK) plants a tree for every domain name registered and collaborates on sustainability projects in Malawi.
These examples show that every organisation can take steps toward more sustainability and that it’s purely a matter of vision and commitment.
What can you do as a registrar?
Corporate social responsibility is no longer a nice-to-have, it's simply a very smart choice. Customers, partners, employees and governments expect transparency and action. Organisations that invest in sustainability today are future-proofing themselves and helping to build a better future.
There are plenty of simple steps every organisation can already take today.
Join .be sustainable
Are you a registrar and do you want to inspire your colleagues with your sustainability efforts?
Visit .be Sustainable and get in touch to share your organisation’s sustainability story.
With this article, we support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.