Digital Data Clean-Up 2024 - our flagship project enters its second round
After last year's successful launch, the Digital Data Clean-Up 2024 is entering the next round! The campaign, initiated as part of the CDR Initiative, aims to motivate employees to clean up their digital data on hard drives, network drives, in email inboxes and in the cloud and to support them in doing so.
Motivation
The piles of data in email inboxes and on drives will continue to grow in 2024. Numerous (spam) emails are added every day, and many employees receive newsletters that often remain unread. Old, unnecessary documents and multiple draft versions of a file take up valuable.
The advantages of Digital Data Clean-Up are obvious: not only does it save storage space, it also reduces costs and has a positive impact on the environment and climate. It also creates a long-term awareness of data-saving behaviour among participants, which also benefits their mental health. Aspects such as data protection and security also speak in favour of committed digital decluttering.
Many organisations are taking part in Digital Data Clean-Up 2024
Following the success of 2023, a total of 46 organisations are taking part in this year's Digital Data Clean-Up. Start-ups, SMEs, large corporations from a wide range of industries as well as public authorities, municipalities, educational and cultural institutions and civil society organisations have joined the campaign. This broad spectrum of participants shows that the topic is of growing importance for all types of organisations. In fact, 19 organisations are taking part for the second time and 27 are wielding the digital broom for the first time.
Best practice of mutual learning modelled on the Otto Group
-
"What began in 2022 as an initiative to reduce data waste within the Otto Group has developed into a nationwide campaign under the CDR Initiative of the BMUV, in which numerous small and large companies are now participating. I am very proud of this development and of our employees who have set this ball rolling on their own initiative. The Digital Data Clean-Up is an excellent example of how each individual can take action, whether in the office or at home, to make a positive contribution to a more sustainable future."
Alexander Birken
CEO, Otto Group (*translated from German original)
The Digital Data Clean-Up is a prime example of how organisations can learn from each other when it comes to digital responsibility. The campaign was introduced into the CDR Initiative by the Otto Group, adopted by the office and made available to a broader network. The model was the Digital Spring Clean-Up, which was carried out for the first time throughout the Otto Group in 2022 and thus made a contribution to responsible digitalisation and sustainability (more information in the Otto Group CDR Code Report).
Further voices from our participating member companies
-
"We are taking part in the Digital Data Clean-Up again this year. Last year, we were able to delete a lot of data that was no longer needed and received consistently positive feedback from our employees. Tidy digital desks, a better understanding of individual deletion strategies and the feeling of being able to contribute to sustainability together generated a lot of enthusiasm. We are looking forward to the next round."
Marek Rydzewski
Chief Digital Officer der BARMER (*translated from German original) -
"ING has set itself the strategic goal of placing sustainability at the centre of its activities. Sustainability should play a role in all business areas - including the continuous expansion of our digital infrastructure. With the Digital Data Clean-Up, we are not only eliminating superfluous data, but also ensuring its quality and integrity. In doing so, we are creating the basis for a seamless digital user experience and reducing our ecological footprint at the same time - another step towards a better future for everyone."
Katrin Drumm
Chief Data Officer der ING Deutschland (*translated from German original) -
"As an IT company in the cooperative financial group, Atruvia processes and stores incredibly large amounts of data. This is the only way we can ensure, for example, that many people's salaries arrive in their accounts on time on the first of the month. But: these volumes of data consume energy. It is our duty to constantly scrutinise where data is stored that we no longer need. Whether code or photo - everything counts. That's why we're once again taking part in the Digital Data Clean-Up."
Benjamin Hoffmann
Principal Expert Sustainability, Atruvia AG (*translated from German original) -
"As a new member of the CDR Initiative, we at MARKGRAF are taking part in the Digital Data Clean-Up for the first time. We are convinced that the handling of data will become even more relevant in the future and that particular importance will be attached to unreflected collection. The focus must be on identifying relevant data. We will use the initiative to emphasise the importance of this distinction to our employees. For MARKGRAF, we hope that this will improve the quality of our data and at the same time make a further contribution to environmental sustainability."
Dr. Stefan König
Leiter IT-Anwendungen & Digitalisierung, W. MARKGRAF GmbH & Co KG | Bauunternehmung (*translated from German original)
Implementation within the campain period
Cleaning will take place during the campaign period from 16/09/2024 to 27/09/2024. The CDR Initiative office has once again prepared materials for this, such as a quiz and checklists on the key topics of reducing the flood of emails, cleaning up clouds and drives and working digitally with less CO2. The participating organisations are free to implement the Initiative and organise their own participatory calls to clean up together with their colleagues.
