DNS Belgium has once again been awarded the certificate of climate neutral company, and this is something we are proud. Thanks to a continuing focus on sustainability and corporate social responsibility, we were able to further reduce our ecological footprint and offset our CO2 emissions.
Our atmosphere can only partially absorb the emission of greenhouse gases and at the moment we’ve crossed that boundary, which causes the climate to warm up. If we don't start emitting less CO2, climate change will become increasingly extreme. To save our climate, we have to considerably reduce our global footprint over the next 40 years. This is not impossible but it does require some major adjustments and commitments.
DNS Belgium can once again say it has a zero carbon footprint.
Our commitment for less emissions
DNS Belgium takes its responsibility in this area seriously. Mobility accounts for about half of our total CO2 emissions. By focusing heavily on more sustainable commutes, we were able to reduce our mobility emissions by almost 30% by 2019. We achieved this result thanks to our employees' commitment to cycle to work as often as possible and our investments in more fuel-efficient cars.
We were also able to reduce our CO2 emissions in terms of waste processing. Naturally, our PMD (Plastic bottles and flasks, metal packaging and drink cartons) and paper are recycled. And the energy released when non-recyclable waste is incinerated is recovered.
The figure below is from the report of Ecolife, competence centre for footprinting and ecological behavioural change in Belgium, and shows DNS Belgium's ecological footprint in 2019. Not only does it show an obvious reduction in DNS Belgium's current footprint, it also compares it with various reduction scenarios. We hope to continue this downward trend.
Offset and neutralise if reduction is not possible
The CO2 emissions we cannot reduce are offset. We did this by sponsoring the Gold Standard VER projects (Verified Emission Reduction) of Carbon Footprint. These projects in developing countries directly or indirectly benefit the climate. In this way, we not only provide high-quality CO2 offsetting, but we also support social and societal goals.
Based on the CO2 we still had to offset, Carbon Footprint calculated how we could neutralise our emissions by sponsoring certain projects. In this way, we managed to offset some 187 tonnes of CO2. This achievement was rewarded with the Gold Standard certificate, which we happily accepted. In other words, DNS Belgium can once again say it has a zero carbon footprint.
More trees in Flanders
We also made a commitment to the climate closer to home. Flanders is one of the regions with the least forest land in the world, and non-profit organisation Planteenbos.be is trying to remedy this. They realise concrete afforestation projects in Flanders by giving companies and individuals the opportunity to buy pieces of forest land. This reforests the country and buyers are given the opportunity to plant the trees themselves. DNS Belgium can call itself the proud owner of many a tree in one of the forests of vzw Planteenbos.be since 2016.
Now that the week of the forest is coming up again, we want to highlight the importance of nature conservation and care for our climate. We hope to inspire stakeholders and motivate everyone to contribute to our climate and further reduce our global ecological footprint.
With this article, we support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.