At KnowBe4, we continuously look for innovative ways to reduce waste, not only at work, but on a personal level as well. What started as a simple idea four years ago has now become a highly anticipated annual tradition that combines physical decluttering with a growing focus on our digital carbon footprint.
KnowBe4's environmental group, EarthBe4, just wrapped up our 4th annual 'Drop and Swap' – and it was our biggest success yet! This year, we expanded beyond physical items to tackle digital waste, recognizing that our digital habits have real environmental consequences as well. Every email stored in the cloud, every duplicate photo, and every forgotten document requires energy to maintain across data centers worldwide.
Digital Decluttering Drives Real Impact
This year we added an additional layer to our Declutter Month, where we encouraged digital decluttering alongside physical decluttering. Digital waste matters because data storage and processing consume enormous amounts of energy. Data centers account for about 1% of global electricity use, and that number continues climbing as our digital lives expand. When we delete unnecessary digital files, we reduce the energy needed to store and process them. Check out Let's Do It World Global for digital cleanup events and information.
People tracked how many emails, pictures, videos, and documents they deleted for a chance to win prizes. Over the course of one month, 62 Knowsters (KnowBe4 employees) from the US, Netherlands, India, and Singapore deleted 2 mtCO2e worth of digital waste.
{2 mtCO2e}
To put that in perspective: it's equivalent to the emissions from one transatlantic round-trip flight; burning roughly 225 gallons of gasoline; or recycling about half a ton of paper. Put another way, it would take approximately 91 trees an entire year to absorb that same amount of CO2.
Physical Swapping Continues to Grow
This year's month-long event in July saw employees in the US bring in nearly 500 pounds of gently loved treasures to swap with fellow employees. What makes this initiative special to me is watching how it has grown from year to year, with more employees participating and finding new homes for items that might otherwise end up in landfills.
Tables in the US were set up in a centralized location where staff could drop off or pick up:
- KnowBe4 Swag
- Office supplies
- Books
- Kitchen supplies
- Clothing
- Kids toys
We also ran a GotSneakers drive where employees donated over 16 pounds of sneakers to be recycled.
Six countries participated in KnowBe4 Drop & Swap this year: India, UAE, Netherlands, UK, Germany, and Australia. In the US, Knowsters dropped off over 465 pounds of items, with 263 pounds donated to a local veteran's charity.
Why This Matters
According to the Zero Waste International Alliance, zero waste means "the conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health."
KnowBe4's annual Drop & Swap embraces the 'reuse' aspect of this definition, keeping materials in circulation rather than sending them to landfills where they generate methane and other harmful emissions.
2025 highlights from our 2025 US event
- Growing participation: Employees brought in over 30 more pounds of items compared to last year – several additional boxes of books, clothing, and household goods, finding new purpose.
- Higher adoption rates: Knowsters were over 4 times more active in finding treasures. While only 50 pounds found new homes last year, an impressive 206 pounds were claimed this year.
- Four-year charity impact: Over 1,068 pounds donated to local charities – roughly the weight of a grand piano or 4-5 refrigerators going to families in need.
- Internal reuse success: Our internal "shopping" rate jumped from 11% to 44%, meaning nearly half of all donated items found new homes within our own KnowBe4 family.
Four-Year Combined Impact
- Total items shared: Over 1,400 pounds
- Total donated to charity: 1,068 pounds
- Total shoes recycled: 60 pounds
- Lives touched: Countless Knowsters plus local families through charity donations
Drop & Swap isn't just reducing waste – it's building community and spreading generosity while addressing both our physical and digital environmental impact.