Through reliable and recognised domain name services, DNS Belgium seeks to promote a digital and sustainable society. We also aim to be an example to others in the field of corporate social responsibility.
Three areas of operation
Our sustainability initiatives have been strategically embedded in our organisation's policy since 2016. In the future, we'll build on the achievements of recent years but we'll also focus on other things.
Three areas of operation form the context for our sustainability actions and initiatives:
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Environment
For years DNS Belgium has been making many efforts to minimise its impact on the environment. Read all about it here. -
Good governance
In terms of good governance, we'll continue to comply with the ten basic principles laid down in our Corporate Governance Charter over the coming years.
Within these areas of operation, we pursue concrete goals and take a lot of initiatives such as reducing our own carbon emissions, promoting sustainability among registrars and registrants, reducing electronic waste, increasing the well-being of our employees and diversity in our organisation, promoting digital inclusion, protecting privacy, etc.
Focus on entire value chain
To date, our sustainability policy has focused on our own value chain. In our new sustainability policy we're expanding that scope and will be focusing on DNS Belgium's entire value chain.
In other words, we're not only taking a closer look at our own activities, but also at what precedes and follows our activities. We do that by promoting sustainability at our suppliers (upstream) as well as our registrars and registrants (downstream).
A new framework
In 2024, we updated our sustainability strategy and formulated actions and goals to be achieved by 2030. We worked out a sustainability strategy in which we defined different goals, set KPIs and developed actions to achieve these goals.
We also launched a new framework. The new European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is aimed at large and medium-sized companies, as part of the European Green Deal. As time goes by, the CSRD will apply to more and more companies.
DNS Belgium is currently not obliged to report in accordance with the CSRD, but we have undertaken to draw up the new sustainability strategy and report in accordance with CSRD standards. Of course, as an SDG ambassador, we also retain the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals as our guide.
Until 2024, we based our goals, KPIs and actions on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the ISO26000 sustainability guidelines.
Our sustainability policy was based on four pillars:
- Inspiring workplace
- Leader in security
- Digital awareness
- Sustainable chain management
In 2024, we came to the conclusion that our original sustainability strategy, despite regular updates, no longer met our needs. The goals had been met and we were ready for the next step as an SDG Ambassador.
This 2024-2030 sustainability strategy was discussed and ratified by the Board of Directors on 28 May 2024.
By actively following this strategy, DNS Belgium will achieve its sustainability goals and make a positive impact on both the environment and society.
Double materiality principle
The CSRD prescribes that when determining our short-, medium- and long-term goals, we must apply the double materiality principle throughout our entire value chain.
The double materiality principle comes down to the fact that, as an organisation, we have an impact on people and planet (impact materiality) and that people and planet also have an impact on DNS Belgium as an organisation (financial materiality).
That impact is positive and negative, current and potential, and includes both risks and opportunities. By taking all this into account, we determine the priorities in our sustainability policy.