Dear Hans Petter, all: Thank you for the excellent work that you and the NCC staff have put into this strategy – it's fantastic! The only aspect that seems to be missing to me is any mention of how sustainability could fit into the strategy, both in terms of NCC's operations as well as more broadly relevant to the RIPE community.
*Context: *Sustainability is increasingly becoming a topic relevant to the digital sector, as its energy and resource footprint grows, as customers prioritize sustainable solutions/products/services, and governments start demanding greater transparency and sustainability as well. Coupled with the fact that one of the factors driving the strategy includes the "Legislative and regulatory issues at the EU level and within other countries in our service region can impact how the RIPE NCC is run and how our members operate," I think it is certainly worth prioritising. This seems especially relevant on the eve of COP26, in the midst of the European Green Deal/Fit for 55 strategy, and growing awareness of the ICT sector's environmental footprint. I anticipate this will only accelerate throughout the 2020s, and it's important that we be prepared for it *and* see it as an opportunity – to provide greener services, better serve customers, be more sustainable overall (for the sake of communities and the planet), and for bottom lines. As such, I see two places that this could fit in: 1. "*Enable our members and community to operate one secure, stable and resilient global Internet*" --> I'd love to see the word "sustainable" added after resilient to recognise and emphasise that the Internet as we know it is *not* currently sustainable, but can be if we work towards it. I also recommend adding a 3.6 bullet to say something to the effect of "Support efforts to increase the sustainability of the Internet and its underlying technologies." Not only is there additional room in the section for another bullet, but the section is even green :-) 2. "*Maintain a stable organisation with a robust governance structure*" --> An additional bullet could be added that includes wording like "Endeavour to improve our environmental footprint and work towards more sustainable operations." This could be done via auditing/benchmarking, and then making improvements where you see fit. Given that more climate-related regulation is likely on the way in the lead up to 2030, it may also play well into strategic goal 4.2. I'm curious to hear what others think. I think bold leadership is required, and I'd love to see NCC trailblazing here. Keep up the great work! Best, -Michael __________________ Director of External Relations Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Alliance (SDIA <https://sdialliance.org/> ) ICT sustainability advocate | IRPC <https://internetrightsandprinciples.org/> Steering Committee member Belgrade, Serbia (UTC+2) | Twitter <https://www.twitter.com/MikeOghia> | LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeoghia> <https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeoghia> On Tue, Oct 26, 2021 at 4:28 PM Hans Petter Holen <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear colleagues, > > Today we published our Draft RIPE NCC Strategy 2022-2026. You can see > the announcement I made to the membership at: > > https://www.ripe.net/ripe/mail/archives/ncc-announce/2021-October/001524.html > > We are also keen to get input from the RIPE community on our strategy, > and I invite you to provide your feedback on this mailing list or on the > Membership Discussion mailing list if you are subscribed there > <[email protected]>. > > Kind regards, > > Hans Petter Holen > Managing Director > RIPE NCC > >
