Our Sustainability Coordinator, Sophie Dings, recently attended the United Nations’ High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) held in New York from 14th to 18th July 2025.
We were invited to the Forum by Cifal Flanders and Voka as an accredited SDG Ambassador and represented the digital sector along with four other Flemish companies that have sustainability deeply embedded in their business operations: Fruit at Work, BelOrta, Smulders and Center Parcs.
A small non-profit organisation with big ideas
With a staff of just 39 employees, we are a small non-profit organisation. Yet we are always proud to promote our policy on sustainability, especially when we have the opportunity to share our ideas and vision at an international level – and what better stage to do so than the United Nations?
What makes DNS Belgium unique is that, even as a small non-profit organisation in the IT industry, we have invested in an ambitious policy on sustainability over a period of many years.
“It was extremely valuable to be able to talk with other stakeholders from all around the world and immediately find common ground with them. The SDGs are a universal framework that helps accelerate cooperation.”
During the Forum, we were able to present 3 of our 4 main priorities:
- Online safety by running awareness campaigns aimed at youngsters and the over-65s.
- Fighting cybercrime and illegal content using tools such as our open source crawler and our predict phishing tool, and also by conducting identity checks on questionable .be domain name registrations.
- Promoting digital inclusion through information campaigns and workshops for the over-65s, as well as with our sister organisation, Digital for Youth, which collects and refurbishes disused laptops from businesses.
Digital inclusion as a human rights issue
The central theme of the UN summit – “Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda” – fits closely with DNS Belgium’s mission of contributing to a digital society that leaves no one out in the cold.
“Digital inclusion is not a luxury; it is a human rights issue. Being digitally excluded makes you vulnerable. This awareness also exists at the highest level in the UN.”
While she was in New York, Sophie spoke with representatives of the UN Global Compact, which brings together companies worldwide on issues such as human rights, the right to work, the environment and anti-corruption. We are exploring ways of working with them on digital inclusion in Belgium within the local network that they intend to set up.
International inspiration, local impact
DNS Belgium’s participation in the UN summit not only brought international recognition to our organisation, but also opened up new insights and inspiration:
- Digital inclusion was a topic mentioned repeatedly at the summit, including by UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed.
- Cultural differences in doing business between Europe and the US were clearly highlighted.
- The political context has an effect on the way sustainability is talked about, but not necessarily any actions themselves.
“In the US, terms such as ESG and DEI are tending to disappear from corporate-speak – but that does not mean that all companies are ceasing to operate sustainably,” says Sophie. “The true believers will keep on going, even if there is no communication.”
The power of the private sector
Although governments can sometimes drag their feet, the private sector is able to provide a counterbalance. “Policy and diplomacy require time,” adds Sophie. “Businesses are able to be more agile and so can adapt more quickly. That gives them greater freedom and responsibility.”
DNS Belgium aims to continue playing that role as we head towards 2030. We remain committed to partnerships, such as the one with Digital for Youth, and aim to involve our chain even more closely through the .be Sustainable project.
“We can be proud. Never before has there been such a large Belgian business contingent at this Forum. As a small non-profit organisation, we are able to demonstrate that you can make a difference without having a large budget – both locally and globally.”
Through this presence on the international stage, DNS Belgium emphasised its role as a thought leader in sustainable digitalisation.
Sophie in the city that never sleeps:
With this article, we support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.