Yesterday, DNS Belgium was awarded the Sustainable Business Charter by Flanders' Chambers of Commerce and Industry (VOKA) for the third year in a row. The corona measures meant the charter award presentation could not be held at the Werchter festival site this year. Instead, it was held by video conference, which is the kind of sustainable initiative DNS Belgium strongly advocates.
Because we feel strongly about sustainability and take many actions in this field, we submitted as many as 17 actions to VOKA. The following initiatives are the most important to us.
DigitalForYouth.be
DNS Belgium and Close the Gap joined forces to establish the DigitalForYouth.be non-profit organisation. The idea is to support projects in Belgium that teach young people digital skills. DigitalForYouth.be does that by collecting, refurbishing and distributing used laptops. DNS Belgium thus provides a lever to organisations that support vulnerable target groups.
The lockdown made the importance of computers and the internet in our current society abundantly clear. More than ever youngsters needed their own computer for distance learning and making their homework. To prevent children in vulnerable families from falling behind because a PC is not always available at home, DigitalForYouth.be collected over 12,000 laptops from companies. DigitalForYouth.be refurbished these laptops and distributed them through schools to youngsters who needed them most.
Ava and Trix
The mission of the Ava & Trix teaching package is to make children – girls especially – between 8 and 11 enthusiastic about science. The teaching package stimulates high-quality education, gender equality and innovation which is why it is offered to schools and individual players for free. DNS Belgium worked with Ava & Trix on an episode about the Internet.
International collaboration within ICANN
DNS Belgium also supports international collaboration to build a stronger worldwide internet. Within ICANN we try to be a pioneer on the international stage. Information sharing is an important factor in this. DNS Belgium shared its knowledge about Business Continuity with the colleague- registry from Guatemala (.gt) and helped implement a Business Continuity programme.
Cyber Security Coalition
In addition, DNS Belgium also plays an active role in the Cyber Security Coalition in Belgium. By constructing a strong cyber security ecosystem in Belgium, DNS Belgium wants to ensure the internet stays secure and is more robust. We do that by bringing together the skills and expertise of the academic world, the private sector and the government on a trust-based platform. This allows us to efficiently share information and knowledge and encourage joint actions.
Role as climate ambassador
And finally, the climate is also very important to us. DNS Belgium is making several efforts to achieve a zero carbon footprint. The ambitious climate programme is aimed at a major reduction and compensation of our CO2 emissions. We also take our responsibility for the consequences of historic emissions.
For example, in recent years we switched to a green energy supplier, we migrated the registration and management platform to a climate neutral cloud solution, we make efforts for a greener mobility, etc.
“The sustainability actions of DNS Belgium are a good example of how service companies can also get involved in sustainable entrepreneurship. DNS Belgium succeeds in working creatively and in its core business with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. They have been doing this for three years in a row now. As a result they will receive a UNITAR certificate and the title of SDG Pioneer from the United Nations in October”
These are just some of the 17 actions DNS Belgium took to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and for which VOKA awarded the Sustainable Business Charter to us. We will continue to take new initiatives and promote sustainable business in the future too.
With this article, we support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.