Impact in 15 minutes: Sustainable data cleanup for cultural organizations

Cultural organizations collect a lot of data. Much of this is very useful, such as audience data to investigate the needs of your target groups, collection data, video recordings of performances, and everything organizations are legally required to archive. But not everything needs to be kept. 

Do you realize that all the digital data you send and store has an impact on the environment? It consumes energy and water and emits CO2. 

Digital Cleanup Day is a great opportunity for cultural organizations to contribute to sustainability by cleaning up digital data. See what you can achieve in a quarter of an hour of your valuable time. Note: Always consult the regulations regarding data retention and deletion first.

Some quick actions at a glance:

1. Clean up your mailbox

Take five minutes to delete unwanted emails.

• Look for newsletters you rarely read or advertisements you’re no longer interested in. Unsubscribe and delete them.
• Find the largest attachments by sorting your emails by size and delete them or save useful attachments locally.
• Be sparing with attachments and CCs when sending emails. Collaborating in an online document is more sustainable than emailing a file back and forth.
• Finish by emptying your Sent Items folder and trash bin, as deleted emails still take up space and consume energy otherwise.

This reduces energy consumption in data centers. Of course, email is not the most polluting: ultimately, it’s the devices you view them on and the servers where the data is stored. But by using less storage space through cleanup, IT hardware will need replacement less frequently.

2. Clean up cloud storage 

Take five minutes to delete files from cloud storage, such as OneDrive, SharePoint, or iCloud, wherever possible. Reducing stored data in “the cloud” (which are actually massive server racks in a data center) is crucial for sustainable digitization, as it leads to lower energy demand in data centers and longer server lifespans.

• Delete files you don’t need. These hacks can help speed things up: Filter by size (from large to small) and date (from old to new). You can do this by clicking on “Size” or “Modified” at the top of the file overview. This immediately shows which types of files take up the most space: likely video and PowerPoint files.
• Delete temporary files and empty the trash bin.

3. Clean up files on your computer and smartphone 

Spend five minutes cleaning up digital files on your hard drive and your phone’s internal storage.

• Computer, Microsoft: Use the start button to type “disk cleanup” and check what you want to delete. Temporary files and the trash bin will also be cleaned up quickly this way.
• Computer, Mac: Go to Storage via Manage and Recommendations. Choose “Clean up documents” there. Click on large files to find the heaviest files and delete unnecessary ones. 
  
• Set your trash bin to empty automatically.
• Create folders that are logically organized so you know what you’re keeping.
• De-duplicate: Ensure the final version of a file is stored in one logical location. Coordinate this within your organization so that not every department archives the same file in different places.
• Smartphone: Under settings in “iPhone Storage” (iPhone), “Storage” or “Device Maintenance” (Android), you can see how much space apps, photos, emails, messages, and other items are taking up. Delete unnecessary files. Most smartphones provide recommendations for cleaning up internal storage.

Finally: Note how many MBs you’ve deleted and inspire others to clean up as well.

By regularly applying these simple steps, you’ll not only help your cultural organization work more efficiently but also contribute to a more sustainable digital world.