2024's Earth-Friendly Highlights

At KnowBe4, we're deeply committed to the care of the environment, weaving sustainability into the very fabric of our organization. From our policies and procedures to our company culture, we consistently strive to minimize our environmental footprint. As we embark on a new year, I'm excited to reflect on just a few of KnowBe4's sustainability achievements from 2024. These milestones not only showcase our dedication to a greener future but also demonstrate how businesses can successfully integrate eco-friendly practices into their operations. Join me as we explore the impactful steps we've taken towards a more sustainable tomorrow.

Global Highlights

• KnowBe4 planted over 15,000 trees in 2024 through direct employee efforts, employee donations, and in partnership with Arbor Day Foundation.
• For the month of July, our offices in the US, Australia, Dubai, South Africa, Netherlands, India, Singapore, and Germany participated in KnowBe4’s “Drop & Swap”, where we invited employees to bring in their gently loved treasures to swap with fellow employees during the entire month. Anything left over at the end of the month was donated to local charities. In the US nearly 400 pounds of items were donated to two local charities at the end of the month.
  
• At our company headquarters in Florida, we diverted nearly 60,000 pounds of material from the waste stream; over 43,000 of that was through repurposing and donations alone. In a new initiative that started in Q2, we began composting our coffee grounds with a local urban farm, to the tune of over 1,600 pounds composted in the last three quarters of 2024.
• For our 14th anniversary, in partnership with Arbor Day we celebrated by planting 14,000 trees in 14 forests, thereby protecting 14 threatened species. We also re-adopted our 13 beehives through the Pinellas Beekeepers Association (PBA), and added a 14th hive for our 14th anniversary!
  
• According to the Arbor Day Foundation, the trees planted from our donation will offset 11,326 tons of carbon over the next 40 years. That is the equivalent of removing approximately 2,462 passenger vehicles from the road for one year. Put another way, it's roughly equal to the carbon emissions from 1,415 passenger flights from New York to London.
• We have reduced our global Scope 1 & Scope 2 emissions and increased our use of clean energy year-over-year for the past four years. 
  
• In an initiative that marries sustainability with social responsibility, our South African team made a local impact in 2024 by donating 15 laptops to an outstanding organization running a cybersecurity academy for underprivileged students. This action not only extended the lifecycle of our technology, effectively reducing e-waste, but also provided essential tools to aspiring cybersecurity professionals who otherwise couldn't afford their own computers.
• Our Adopt-A-Street program in the U.S. made notable strides in 2024. We saw a 79% increase in the amount of trash collected compared to 2023, coupled with a 17% rise in employee participation. This growth in both results and engagement reflects our team's ongoing commitment to community cleanliness and environmental care.
• And finally, KnowBe4 was honored with the Sustainability Leadership Award in the 2024 Sustainability Awards program by the Business Intelligence Group.

Employee Highlights

• To date, approximately 97% of our employees have made a commitment to our Knowster Climate Pledge! Our pledge encourages employees to live a more sustainable lifestyle through various commitments they can make.  
• Tara Ferrin was crowned our Volunteer of the Year for 2024, by volunteering with KnowBe4 on dozens of occasions - woohoo, congratulations Tara!
• Over 390 KnowBe4 employees participated in 144 cleanups across nine countries in 2024, and cleaned up over 1040 pounds of trash! A few of the organizations we partnered with for cleanups are Keep Pinellas Beautiful, What’SUP (for a canal cleanup in the Netherlands), Adopt-A-Street through the City of Clearwater, the Hope Spot Festival, Salty Soul, and World Cleanup Day, among others. 
• Our employee environmental group, EarthBe4, has grown to over 70 employees, and has members in nine countries. This group has spearheaded many community initiatives, including several organized cleanups and employee contests, and adopting the downtown district around our corporate headquarters.

As we look towards 2025, our commitment to environmental stewardship only grows stronger. I'm particularly excited to see how our passionate employees will continue to drive our green initiatives forward in the coming year. Their creativity and dedication have been instrumental in our success so far, and I have no doubt they'll surpass expectations once again. Together, we can create a more sustainable future for our businesses and our planet. Here's to a year ahead filled with health, prosperity, and groundbreaking eco-friendly achievements. Let's make 2025 our greenest year yet!