Digital Data Clean-Up – Reducing data waste together with the CDR Initiative

Digital Data Clean-Up is a joint campaign organised by various companies as part of the CDR Initiative. The aim of the campaign is to inspire employees in companies and other organisations to clean up their data on hard drives, network drives, in email inboxes and in the cloud and to support them in doing so.

It is estimated that there are 550 exabytes of data in the cloud worldwide. ¹ An unimaginable amount. Moreover, it is assumed that more than 333 billion emails are sent and received worldwide every day in 2022. ² Looking at Germany, emissions from the production and use of digital devices and services such as computers and smartphones, as well as the data transfers generated by these devices, caused around 49.5 million tonnes of CO2eq. This amount corresponds to approximately 7% of total emissions in Germany in 2022. ³

We want to counteract this trend and delete superfluous data or avoid the creation of new data. With our campaign, we want to raise awareness among employees and strengthen the sense of community.

Overall, the initiative has not only positive effects on the environment and climate but also on costs. Because storage space costs money. And (digital) tidying up also ensures a clearer mind, strengthening mental health.

The campaign period is from 11 September to 22 September 2023.

The implementation of the campaign itself is the responsibility of the companies and other organisations and can be designed in a modular and flexible way. The participating organisations are supported by the CDR Initiative office by providing materials for preparation and implementation. These include, for example

• Templates for tutorials and checklists for self-use
• Concept for organising your own participatory calls with employees
• Content for newsletter articles or quizzes
• Construction kit for collecting employee feedback

The more participants we gain, the better!

Our invitation to participate is open to all interested companies and organisations that want to join their employees in the fight against data waste on their hard drives and in the cloud. It doesn't matter which industry you come from or whether you only have a handful of employees or are a large corporation. The important thing is that you want to make a serious contribution together with us.