By Amit Patel
I'm sure most people, if they tried really hard, could think of people that they did not like working with. I know I can. We'll call her Suzie, and she was basically the kid in elementary school that always sat in front of class and raised their hand for every question. And although she had many obnoxious workplace habits (i.e. talking too much with little regard for listening), one that stuck out was her insatiable need to micro manage everyone's environmental footprint: making sure we recycled, reused plastic utensils, carpooled to company functions, etc. And, at the time, I just found this annoying and invasive. But now, that I am older and more environmentally aware, I realize that Suzie was not just some annoying girl I used to work with. She was, also, a pioneer of a new entity in the workplace, the Green Team.
What is a green team?
It is a group of employees (volunteers or an actual department) who look for ways to decrease the environmental footprint of their office. There goal is to raise employee awareness of opportunities to save energy and contribute to a healthy work environment by focusing on the 3 R's: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Their efforts not only help the environment, but they can improve the company bottom line. Offices with green teams enjoy the benefits of lower electricity bills, less waste, and engaged employees who build project management, communications, and leadership skills as they plan out their eco-friendly campaigns.
How to start?
Greenzu.com offers a step by step guide to Starting A Green Team. But, basically, it is best to gain support of upper management before getting started with a green team. Once you have the green light, pun intended, the next step should be to create awareness through as many channels as possible: company bulletin board, email blasts, presentations, etc. Ask who is interested in environmental issues and is willing to help the team get started. After you have a solid group, here are some other ideas to move forward.
- Research sites like this and other green websites to determine which changes can be implemented to have the greatest impact.
- Check out Greenzu's Assessment Tools - which include guides to audit your office's use of energy, water, and paper, etc. Evaluate each area of office life, including break times, purchasing practices (electronic equipment, furniture, supplies, etc), cleaning habits, transportation and commuting behaviors.
- Appoint project leaders to focus on these areas: Energy Efficiency, Recycling/Waste Reduction, and Transportation (ie. rideshares).
- Set a schedule for monthly green team meetings to brainstorm ideas, establish projects, and review the outcome of campaigns.
- Create a blog or newsletter to keep the rest of the company informed on your progress and activities.
Why are Green Teams important?
The business case for sustainability is widely debated. We've found Green Teams are an important part of the sustainability movement because they viable means for progress. By increasing awareness about the environmental impacts associated with everyday office practices, green teams encourage and facilitate environmental change for an entire organization. They are catalysts for thousands of small changes, which together, create tremendous large scale benefits for their companies and the environment. And this is a good thing for everyone.
So, thank you Suzie, for giving me the evil eye every time I tossed a plastic cup into the garbage rather than the recycling bin you placed right next to it. I guess I was the one being obnoxious.
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