Closing the Loop has been partnered with KPMG since 2018. Over the years, this partnership has supported the collection of thousands of scrap phones through One for One. While the impact of that partnership has been clear for years, in 2025 both organisations saw an opportunity to involve employees more directly in the story. International E-waste Day became the catalyst for an internal engagement campaign focused on learning, participation, and visibility. In this blog, we share the why and how behind that activation, and show how One for One can act as a practical storytelling enabler for organisations.
Why employee engagement matters for sustainable initiatives
Many organisations have clear sustainability ambitions and do impactful work to fulfil them. What often proves harder is translating those ambitions into something employees can see, understand, and relate to in their daily work. Sustainable initiatives can easily stay at the level of reporting, while the people inside the organisation remain disconnected from the story behind them.
Employee engagement matters. When people understand what their organisation is doing and why, sustainability shifts from a background topic to something that feels relevant and shared. Engagement helps scale initiatives beyond a single team or department and turns strategy into participation.
International E-Waste Day offered KPMG a natural moment to activate that engagement. Together with Closing the Loop, it turned its circular impact into a fun and educational internal experience. This case study shows how KPMG used One for One, not just as an impact driver, but as a powerful and engaging storytelling tool.
A long-term partnership, not a one-off action
The E-Waste Day activation did not start from scratch. KPMG has been working with Closing the Loop since 2018, using One for One as part of its approach to circular tech. Through this partnership, close to 10,000 scrap phones have been collected.
One for One is already embedded in KPMG’s approach to device use and responsible tech consumption. That continuity matters. It means that the internal message can build on the foundation of a strong, existing partnership.
For E-Waste Day 2025, KPMG’s Corporate Responsibility and Marketing & Reputation teams worked closely with the Customer Success and Marketing teams at Closing the Loop. Together, they translated years of circular action into a story employees could connect with. By choosing the right timing, the activation built on previous work, highlighted progress so far, and gave it a clear moment of visibility.
Turning E-Waste Day into an internal experience
E-Waste Day was used as a moment to celebrate KPMG’s work with Closing the Loop, but the goal went further than awareness alone. The focus was on showing employees how the devices they use every day are part of the organisation’s circular approach.
Participation and learning were central. The campaign was designed to help employees understand what KPMG is already doing and how their own behaviour connects to that effort. Making the topic tangible was key.
The result was a tailored approach to KPMG’s internal environment, built around its own story, and delivered through channels employees already use every day.
The employee experience
The campaign combined digital and physical elements to keep engagement easy and visible.
Digital touchpoints
The activation started a few days before E-waste Day, with intranet posts introducing International E-Waste Day and explaining the collaboration with Closing the Loop. These messages set the context and invited employees to take part.
Screensavers with QR codes were rolled out on employee laptops across the Netherlands. These were linked directly to an online quiz, making participation quick and accessible during the working day. Participants had a chance to win jewellery from NoWa, made from metals recovered from recycled e-waste.
The quiz focused on KPMG’s results through its work with Closing the Loop, alongside general e-waste knowledge. More than 100 employees took part.
Physical activation
On E-Waste Day itself, a physical stand was set up at KPMG’s Amstelveen office. This created a visible touchpoint within the workplace.
Employees could speak directly with Closing the Loop team members about the work done together with KPMG. Scrap phones were displayed to illustrate the e-waste challenge, and videos explained how collection networks operate in Africa. These conversations helped connect everyday device use to the wider circular story.
Together, the digital and physical elements created multiple ways for employees to engage.
Organisation-wide visibility
The reach of the campaign extended far beyond quiz participation alone. Intranet posts and screensavers were visible across KPMG environments and offices, reaching thousands of employees.
This is where One for One supports scalable storytelling. The activation did not rely on complex tools or heavy production. It used existing internal channels and simple formats that can easily be repeated. The same approach can be rolled out across other teams, offices, or future moments without starting from scratch.
Benefits for KPMG
Employee engagement
Instead of one-way communication, employees were invited to actively participate. The quiz encouraged learning through interaction, while the physical presence in the office helped spark conversations during the working day. Circular action became something people experienced, not just read about.
Internal storytelling
The campaign created clear and ready-to-use content for internal communication before and after E-Waste Day. It linked circular action directly to everyday tech use inside the organisation. Follow-up communication, such as sharing quiz results and thanking participants, helped reinforce the message.
Credibility and consistency
The activation aligned closely with KPMG’s existing commitments. Communicating what you are already doing, in a way employees understand, supports credibility. One for One fits naturally into KPMG’s broader ESG communication and has been part of its strategy for multiple years. It’s part of a larger whole rather than sitting alongside it as a separate initiative.
One for One as a storytelling enabler
This case highlights the role of One for One beyond circular results alone. The service provides a clear and concrete outcome that is easy to explain and easy to share.
It connects employee devices with tangible results and with their organisation’s circular ambitions. It makes e-waste visible, measurable, and relatable, especially when combined with simple digital and physical storytelling elements. The same action can support internal communication, external communication, and on-site activations. While moments like E-Waste Day offer a natural hook, the approach is not limited to awareness days.
One for One acts as a bridge between circular action and engagement, giving organisations something to talk about and a practical way to involve employees.
For organisations looking to strengthen their circular tech story, the question is no longer whether to engage employees, but how. This case shows what is possible when awareness is paired with action.
