Sustainable development in the domain industry
Many domain retailers have pledged to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We've pulled together a list of who is taking action and what they are doing.
The 19 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are a central pillar of the .eco community. Everyone using a .eco domain needs to commit to one or more of the SDGs. That includes us as the .eco registry!
However, we are not the only ones taking action. Across the domain name industry, there are many domain retailers (registrars) who are acting in support of the SDGs.
We’ve compiled those retailers who have pledged support for the SDGs. In some cases, the sustainability commitments are managed by a parent company; we’ve tried to clarify its connection with the brands you have heard of that they use to sell domain names. If there are retailers that we have missed that we should include, please let us know.
GoDaddy
GoDaddy is the world’s biggest domain registrar. They publish an annual sustainability report that outlines the actions that they are taking in support of the SDGs.
Hostsharing
Hostsharing eG is a German cooperative that offers web hosting services to its members with a focus on digital sustainability.
Infomaniak
Infomaniak is a Swiss ethical cloud hosting provider that is focused on minimizing their environmental footprint. They are also a certified B Corp and members of the .eco community.
Krystal
Krystal is a UK-based hosting provider that is a certified B Corp, 100% powered by renewable energy and giving back via 1% for the Planet. They are also members of the .eco community.
Lexsynergy
Lexsynergy is a UK-based registrar helping corporate clients register domain names to protect their brand. They have pledged to minimize their environmental footprint and plant trees for every domain registered. They are B Corp certified and members of the .eco community.
Openprovider
Openprovider is a domain registrar and reseller based in the Netherlands. They have pledged their support for the SDGs.
Porkbun
Porkbun is a American domain registrar with a loveable pig mascot. They are members of the .eco community.
Team Internet
Team Internet is the UK-based parent company for a bunch of domain retailers, including Only Domains, domaindiscount24, iwantmyname, Instra and more. They report on their work towards the SDGs in their Annual Reports.
The Sharing Group
The Sharing Group is the parent company for Greenhost, Mijndomein and Metaregistrar. Their consortium of companies prioritize ecological responsibility.
United Internet
United Internet is the parent for several domain registrars including InternetX, IONOS, United Domains, World4You, and others. They report on the SDGs that they are supporting in their annual sustainability report.
Webnames
Webnames is a Canadian corporate and retail registrar. They are powered by renewable energy and are members of the .eco community.
Observations
First off, there is clearly a wide-variety of SDGs that the domain industry is working towards. In fact, all but one of the SDGs is accounted for by at least one company.
By far, the most commonly supported SDG is Climate Action. This is hardly surprising given that global climate change is one of the main existential risks facing humanity. The emissions associated with the energy used to operate and power the Internet is a key contributor to global warming. Hence, the domain industry has a role to play in mitigating climate change by ensuring that our services are powered by renewable energy wherever possible.
The next most popular SDG is Decent Work and Economic Growth. It perhaps expected that technology companies would prioritize this SDG. Often technology companies prioritize the quality of the work environment to attract and retain talented and experienced staff in a competitive market. This SDG is also about driving sustainable economic growth, building companies intended to withstand shocks and last long-term.
It is somewhat surprising that this SDG did not rank higher given the emphasis on Climate Action. One key way that the domain industry can decarbonize the Internet is by only procuring renewable energy to power data centres and maximizing the energy efficiency of technical infrastructure. The lower popularity of this SDG is potentially an area for investment and focus.
The Internet has become a piece of critical infrastructure that supports the efficient operation of modern societies. Domain names are a cornerstone of this, so it makes sense that this SDG is an area of focus. Many of the companies in the domain industry are also focused on innovation to support the inclusive reach of these technologies by working to make the Internet universally accessible.
As a virtual good, domain names are responsibly produced, consumed and disposed of, so it is clear why many in the domain industry support this SDG. This SDG also entails a commitment to regularly sustainability reporting which many of these companies do.
Next steps
If you are a company or an organization that is looking to get started with the SDGs, we recommend learning more about how you can align with the SDGs and reading our guidance about finding your environmental and social purpose on the GoDaddy blog.
If you are a domain retailer and are considering adopting the SDGs, we hope this post provides you with some insight into which SDGs others in our industry are supporting. Once you have published your SDG commitments, please let us know — we'd be happy to include your in this post.
And if you are interested to better understand how the .eco community supports the Sustainable Development Goals, we recommend checking out the .eco profile system where you can see the sustainability commitments made for every active .eco domain.