KnowBe4 Celebrates Waste Free February

This February marked KnowBe4's second annual Waste Free February initiative for our team members. The month-long environmental challenge encouraged participants to embrace daily eco-friendly practices, such as using reusable drinkware instead of disposable options, choosing alternative transportation like biking or walking, and conserving water during daily routines.

Throughout the month, staff members followed themed daily challenges (with provided resources and suggestions):

🍃 Meatless Monday - Explore plant-based dining options 

⚡ Turn-Down-Tuesday - Reduce energy consumption 

🌍 Waste-Free Wednesday - Focus on recycling, upcycling, or composting instead of disposal 

💚 Thankful-Thursday - Give new life to items through repair, repurposing, or donation 

♻️ Plastic-Free Friday - Eliminate single-use plastic items (bags, bottles, utensils, straws, etc) 

🗑️ Cleanup Saturday - Join organized cleanups or conduct individual litter collection 

☺️ Social Sunday - Share environmental awareness and tips with others

In total, we had 627 engagements from 11 countries:

Australia 🇦🇹 Brazil 🇧🇷 Dubai 🇦🇪 Germany 🇩🇪 India 🇮🇳 Japan 🇯🇵 Netherlands 🇳🇱 Singapore 🇸🇬 South Africa 🇿🇦 UK & I 🇬🇧 United States 🇺🇲

The highest participation rates came from Germany, Brazil, South Africa, The Netherlands, and the US, respectively. The environmental impact achieved in just one month was remarkable! Based on self-reporting and AI-assisted estimates, our team members:

• Diverted over 4,000 single-use beverage containers from landfills by choosing reusable alternatives, preventing more than 120 pounds of waste
• Conserved nearly 5,000 gallons of water through mindful personal hygiene practices
• Saved nearly 35,000 gallons of water by avoiding meat just once a week
• Protected 2 trees and saved 200 gallons of water by switching to reusable cloth towels
• Diverted 146 pounds of food scraps through composting and/or regrowing fruit and veggie scraps
• Prevented 420 pounds of materials from reaching landfills by ‘throwing nothing away’ just once a week
• Eliminated approximately 3,085 pieces of single-use plastic through 'Plastic Free Fridays' and zero-waste lunches

We're fortunate to have such dedicated employees who demonstrate their commitment to environmental stewardship! Congratulations to all participants, with special shoutout to our top five contributors:

1st: Ramkumar R - India 🇮🇳

2nd: Ersoy Demir - US 🇺🇲

3rd: Verena Roehrig - Germany 🇩🇪 

4th Ella Messenger - Netherlands 🇳🇱

5th: Latasha Cooper and Laura Schneiter (tied) - US 🇺🇲

Imagine if we maintained these habits all year long! In just one month, our collective actions prevented hundreds of pounds of waste from reaching landfills and saved thousands of gallons of water. By extending these simple daily choices throughout the year, we could multiply this positive impact by twelve - that's thousands of pounds of waste prevented and hundreds of thousands of gallons of water saved. Every small action counts, and together, we can make a lasting difference for our planet. Why not challenge yourself to adopt one of these sustainable practices today? The Earth will thank you!