Nomeo: a pragmatic lever for digital sustainability

Sustainability can be interpreted very broadly and has an ecological and social aspect, but it also concerns policy. How does Nomeo tackle these areas?

Bert: ‘For us, the ecological aspect is about saving energy, but also about mobility and hiring. I believe it’s important to hire people who live close to our offices. Not only does this affect mobility and carbon emissions, it also improves our team’s work-life balance. It also means we don’t always look for people who have the exact expertise we're looking for. Our focus is on motivated people who want to learn and explore new areas.’ 

In terms of ecological aspects, you mention energy savings. How do you go about this? 

Bert: ‘We work with data centres that run entirely on renewables. For our own equipment in those data centres, we look at the effectiveness per watt consumed. Our office building was recently insulated from top to bottom and solar panels on the roof charge a set of batteries. Even though we can’t always decide on these things ourselves, we encourage our landlord and the business centre to take action. Together, we drew up the long-term plan to make the building, which has been here for a hundred years, climate‑neutral or even climate‑positive. A large part of that plan has already been implemented. Over the next two years, the ventilators and thermostats will be replaced and by motivating our fellow tenants, we try to do better.’

Governance can sound like a big word for small SMEs. How do you approach sustainable business practices?

Bert: ‘I determine many of those matters and hope that our people promote these values. We don’t have a board of directors or a formal action plan and not everything is written down. 

Bert: 'The surroundings help too: we’re based in a ‘green’ environment, with an organic farm on the roof of De Punt (the building next to us) and a social restaurant (Arbed) on the corner of the De Punt business centre. It makes sustainability visible. I’m the only one who came by car today, I usually cycle as well. All my colleagues come by bike or public transport.'

Do you communicate with customers about sustainability? How do you convince them?

Bert: ‘For a long time we were cautious, because there was so much greenwashing. Last summer we realised we can genuinely inspire and help our customers. It’s often small things like old files that are still in the cloud or 5 MB photos on a website, etc. Small changes can make a big difference and we educate our customers about these things. We want to be a lever: with 5,000 websites and so many visitors, caching and optimisation can really reduce consumption.’

Which specific projects that you're proud of spring to mind?

Yannick: “When I think about our communications: writing in a more gender-neutral way and focusing on our core task — informing people so that websites become better, safer and more accessible. It’s a process of becoming aware and then acting consistently so that it becomes a habit. Through repetition — as with the 17 SDGs — it turns into a mental checklist you automatically fall back on.”

Bert: ‘Yes, I’m very pleased we’re now informing and mobilising customers. In addition, we designed and implemented our own name server network to enable DNS requests (the server lookups that connect visitors to websites) to be handled as close to the visitor as possible. This eliminates unnecessary traffic across the globe. It’s technical, but it has proven its value and really has an impact.’ 

What are your personal motives?

Bert: ‘In the eighties, we faced crises like the hole in the ozone layer and acid rain. I was a teenager back then and it had a big effect on me. It made me realise how much impact we humans have. If everyone contributes a little, we can make a difference together. That's what I believed back then and I still do.’

Yannick: ‘I’m from a younger generation, but I’m also confronted with bad news almost every day. You have to stay informed, make choices and do what you can: public transport, sorting waste, informing people, raising awareness, etc.’

What tips do you have for fellow registrars who want to take steps towards corporate social responsibility? 

Bert: ‘Don't wait. Take small and concrete actions and be pragmatic. Look at your website statistics and remove any pages that nobody visits. Check unnecessary scripts. Compress large images. You won’t see the effect immediately, but with dozens or thousands of visitors a day, the impact of these small actions is significant.’

Yannick: ‘Small interventions make a difference. Sustainability need not be a major strategic shift. Small steps become new habits and a new way of thinking. And that’s how you make a major impact in the long term.’