Last year's second edition of the Digital Data Clean-Up was once again a great success. That's why we will be repeating the campaign in 2025 and are looking for more participants.
The Digital Data Clean-Up is a joint campaign by various organisations as part of the CDR Initiative. The goal 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 and raise awareness of the benefits of data cleaning.
After successful Digital Data Clean-Ups in the last two years, the campaign is being held for the third time this year. Almost 50 organisations, including start-ups, SMEs and large corporations from a wide range of sectors, took part in the campaign in 2024. They were joined by public authorities, local authorities, educational and cultural institutions and civil society organisations. This broad spectrum of participants shows that the topic is equally important for all types of organisations.
Our daily lives are digital – but at what cost? Smartphones, streaming, AI, and cloud services generate immense amounts of CO₂ emissions, water, and electricity consumption worldwide. Did you know that digital technologies account for around 7% of Germany’s total CO₂ emissions? 1 Or that the annual global water consumption of the digital world is equivalent to 2.178 trillion 1-liter bottles? 2
Every click, every stored file, and every sent email leaves a footprint. A single long email can generate up to 17 g of CO₂ equivalents.
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At the same time, the digitalisation also offers opportunities: Digital technologies could contribute up to 24% toward achieving Germany’s climate targets by 2030.
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We aim to counteract the ever-growing volume of data with the Digital Data Cleanup Initiative.
Our Goal: Deleting unnecessary data and preventing the creation of new, redundant data. This initiative raises awareness of the impact of the digital world on the climate, environment, and health—while also strengthening the sense of community within participating organisations.
But data cleanup doesn’t just benefit the environment: Storage space costs money, and excessive data consumption drives up resource use and expenses. Additionally, digital decluttering enhances data protection, data minimisation, and security—helping us stay mentally clear, which in turn supports mental well-being and efficient work.
Join us! Discover practical tips for a more sustainable use of digital technologies and reduce your digital footprint.
The campaign period is from 23 June to 04 July 2025.
The Digital Data Clean-Up will therefore take place at the same time as the Digital Day. The Digital Day promotes digital participation and the joint implementation is intended to extend the reach of both campaigns.
The implementation of the campaign itself is up to the participating organisations and can be designed in a modular and flexible manner. The participating organisations are supported by the office of the CDR Initiative by providing materials for preparation and implementation. These include, for example:
We also enable colleagues to exchange ideas with each other in order to learn from each other and exchange solution and deletion strategies with each other.
* Most of the material will be in German. Nevertheless, we plan to translate parts of the materials, such as the checklists, into English. If the official language in your organisation is English, please contact us and we will find ways for you to participate, too.
The more organisations join the Digital Data Clean-Up, the better!
Our invitation to participate applies to all interested companies and organisations who, together with their employees, want to clean up the data waste on their hard drives and in the cloud. It doesn’t matter what industry you come from and whether you only employ a handful of people or are a large corporation. The important thing is that you want to make a serious contribution together with us.
Feel free to invite other interested organisations and promote the Data Clean-Up on your channels (LinkedIn: @CDR Initiative).
On 27 March 2025 from 16:00-16:45, another CDR Impulse on the topic of "Digital Data Clean-Up" will take place in cooperation with our member company BARMER. At this event, Maria Hinz will provide valuable tips and tricks for carrying out effective data cleaning and will be available to answer your questions.
Register here - we look forward to your participation!
*The event will be in German
Please register directly for our digital data clean-up by 30.04.2025: Click here to register
Our members stand out for their exceptional commitment to CDR and continuously develop their expertise in this field. The CDR Initiative also contributes to this growth by serving as a learning platform with a high degree of diversity among its member companies.
As part of our CDR development partnership, companies of all kinds can now join us on the path to greater responsibility in the digital space. Our goal is to support you in aligning your structures and processes more effectively with responsibility and sustainability—while also learning from your valuable experiences and sharing them with other organisations.
Contact us to learn more: kontakt@cdr-initiative.de.
Office of the CDR Initiative
© 2025 Office of the CDR Initiative