{"id":8106381,"date":"2026-03-25T09:38:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T16:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/?p=8106381"},"modified":"2026-03-25T09:38:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T16:38:16","slug":"reflections-on-the-digital-cleanup-gathering-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agilealliance.org\/reflections-on-the-digital-cleanup-gathering-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on the Digital Cleanup Gathering 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Agile Sustainability Initiative<\/a>, aiming to continuously improve the State of Sustainability in Agile (SoSA), invited participants to a Digital Cleanup Gathering on March 20. This was in support of the Digital Cleanup Day<\/a> with the idea of digging through our digital cupboards and starting spring cleaning in the style of the World Cleanup Day<\/a>, where people have fun with friends and neighbors while cleaning up the neighborhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital Cleanup Day is an annual global initiative, encouraging individuals and organisations to delete unnecessary digital data to reduce carbon emissions and pollution. It combats “digital pollution” and the energy consumed by storing unused files, apps, emails, etc. At the end of the session, attendees were asked to submit the results!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s session opened by asking participants about their expectations for what they would discover during the hands-on session. We kicked things off by setting out the scene and a sense of urgency: \u201cTechnology is no longer an industry, it’s the fabric layer of any business,\u201d outlining facts and figures from the stretch energy grids and the fact that we have tried, but the accumulation of data hasn’t led us to make better decisions. AI and quantum computing are pushing these figures further still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that cleaning up digitally pays off in three ways: lower carbon footprint, higher data security, and cost savings. We grounded these benefits by showcasing real-life experiences and stories of ROI results within a few organisations. This seemed to really resonate with the audience.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rolling Up Our Sleeves<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Within this context, we turned to our digital archives for guidance. We drew on a previously published Quick Start article from the Sustainability Initiative: Digital Clean Up, This. Is. How.<\/a><\/em> It is a practical, action-oriented piece organized into three sections: Assess, Clean Up, and Monitor<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meeting chat was our repository, and it became a live stream of wins, discoveries, and commiseration. A quick selection of what people found:<\/p>\n\n\n\n