Green Teams
In a Nutshell
A green team is a group of dedicated individuals who come together to promote, identify, and implement specific solutions to help their organization operate in a more sustainable fashion. Green teams can form within governments, businesses, neighborhoods, churches, schools, or any other organization. Green teams can be started by an interested employee, can be mandated from above, or can be a combination of the two. Green teams are usually comprised of interested individuals who sometimes bring expertise in a specific topic or field but who are interested in civic engagement and sustainability.
Practical Solution
The “How To”-
Joining a Green Team
Many churches, schools, community groups, and governments already have established green teams. Look for flyers posted in lunch rooms, on community forums, or in other common areas to see if the green team at your organization is discussed. Sometimes just asking other people or sending out an interested email can garner response and information, as well. Green teams may also be known by different names ranging from Sustainability Commission to Climate Action Task Force to Citizens Committee for the Environment.
Creating Your Own Private Sector Green Team
Within private businesses, the green team is meant to promote sustainable actions and solutions the company can establish in order to become more efficient and sustainable. Private sector organizations and businesses are not using public money so the goals and objectives may be different than a public sector green team. Brandi McManus of GreenBiz.com has created a list of five rules the organization's green team should follow.
- Executive support - A member of the green team should be from the executive staff of the organization; this shows executive buy-in and allows decisions to be made quickly
- Commitment - The executive staff must commit to review suggestions from the green team; make sure the green team is empowered to make real change
- Diversity - The green team should be comprised of employees from various departments within the organization and should hold official positions
- Size - Limit the size of the green team to 10 or 12 people; a team too large has much difficulty agreeing on suggestions and accomplishing goals
- Unleash the Creativity of Your People - Encourage creative thought and interesting solutions; tap the resources that organizations spend billions of dollars to attract and retain
Creating Your Own Public Sector Green Team
Local government green teams vary in their formation. In some instances, the green teams are formal committees or commissions created by ordinance with members appointed by the mayor or city council. Other times, the green team is an informal body that advises the local government staff. In either case, there is usually at least one city employee that acts as a liaison to the green team. Ideally, some members of the team will bring expertise in different sustainability or environmental areas in order to better guide and assist the city's sustainability efforts.
An effective green team should meet on a regular basis and agree upon a course of action in order to focus the team's efforts. The green team should frequently be in communication with city staff and both parties must agree to respect and listen to one another's ideas and suggestions.
Planning & Zoning-
Sample Green Team Ordinances
Sustainable Jersey, a certification program for New Jersey municipalities that want to go green, offers information to municipalities who want to establish green teams. The differences between an ordinance and a resolution as well as a typical green team structure are discussed.
In 2006, the City of Nashua, New Hampshire adopted an ordinance creating a municipal green team. The ordinance states that the team will have no less than seven members and membership will be determined by mayoral appointment.
In 2011, the Borough of Eatontown, New Jersey adopted an ordinance creating the Eatontown Advisory Committee on Sustainable Practices. The ordinance establishes, among other things, very specific membership details.
Sample Green Team Goals
The Village of Northbrook, Illinois offers a list of ongoing goals and accomplishments of the village's green team on its website.
The North Royalton Middle School in North Royalton, Ohio has established very clear goals for its green team. Selected goals include to reduce paper usage, increase plastic recycling, change building computers to Eco Font, and to establish subcomittees. Municipal green team goals will be different than these but this is a good example of how goals can be simple yet concise.
Dollars & Cents-
Costs of Creating a Green Team
The cost accrued in actually creating the green team will be minimal. Potentially, some man hours and other clerical and office expenditures might be necessary to appropriately advertise, establish, and inform the desired population about the green team.
Costs of Implementing Recommendations
One the green team is formed, however, money will probably be necessary to implement any recommended policies or actions. Some green teams are tasked with recommending options while others are able to spend budgeted funds on initatives and programs related to sustainability. The total cost of implementing sustainable options varies depending on scope and size of the project.
If the green team's main objective is advocacy and education, social media and other digital forms of communication can cost very little. Informing the public can be as simple as an online post, message board, newsletter, or email mailing list. Paper flyers, presentations at meetings and conferences, and newsletters will have a cost associated with them but should be minimal.
Measuring Success-
Success of a Municipal Green Team
The success of a local government green team should be determined based on the goals of the team. If the green team was charged with making recommendations to the city council, the number of recommendations made could be counted. If the green team is granted the ability to implement plans and spend resources, the number of policies enacted and dollars spent could also be counted.
If the green team is not given the authority to allocate funding, then it would not be appropriate to measure the number of programs established as this would not indicate success of the team itself.
The creation of goals, a course of action for the team, attendance at green team member meetings, and community engagement activities are all potential metrics that can be measured to evaluate the success of a green team.
Case Studies-
St. Louis Cardinals Green Team - 4 A Greener Game
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Contact
Tony Valleroy
Assistant, Stadium Operations
314-345-9485
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.Address
700 Clark Street - St. Louis, MO 63102
Description
In 2008, the St. Louis Cardinals launched the “4 A Greener Game” initiative to make the team and stadium more sustainable. The Green Team has three primary goals – to minimize waste/increase recycling, conserve water and energy, and purchase environmentally friendly products. The Cardinals Green Team currently has 550 recycling bins throughout Busch Stadium, as well as an average of 25 Green Team volunteers per game that help collect recyclables and encourage other fans to recycle. For the past three years, Busch Stadium has also hosted the Green Series/Green Week in April to raise awareness of environmental issues and encourage sustainable practices, such as electronics recycling. The Cardinals have also invested in solar energy by partnering with Microgrid Energy, Electrical Connection, and Sachs Electric to make Busch Stadium even greener. By the start of the 2012 season, 106 solar panels had been installed, which is in addition to conservation efforts that have already reduced the stadium's energy use by 20 percent.
St. Louis Cardinals Green Team - 4 A Greener Game
Cost
The costs associated with the 4 A Greener Game program and its projects have been low. Volunteers are largely responsible for encouraging and collecting recycling at home games and of the roughly 3200 Green Team volunteers that help out at home games each year, the Volunteer Supervisor is the only paid position. The vests that Green Team volunteers wear are provided through a sponsorship with Ice Mountain. The recycling program itself has virtually zero costs since bags and disposal are needed by cleaning crews whether the waste is being recycled or going to a landfill. While there were certainly upfront costs associated with installing 106 solar panels, the solar array now provides Busch Stadium with 32,000-kilowatt hours of energy per year. That is enough energy to offset the power used at the Cardinals team store and help reduce overall energy costs.
Above: Solar panels line the roofs of kiosks at Busch Stadium.
Lessons Learned
While finding the 3200 volunteers needed to staff recycling collection at home games can be challenging, the Cardinals Green Team reaps the rewards in terms of the fans they are able to reach out to. The St. Louis Cardinals, and Major League Baseball in general, are in a unique position to promote sustainability. Not only is baseball an excellent venue for bringing visibility to sustainable practices, such as solar power and recycling, but also as an educational opportunity since MLB teams have the resources and ability to reach a huge public audience. Making changes at Busch Stadium will hopefully encourage all the fans out there to take a closer look at their own habits and potentially make their homes and lives more sustainable as well.
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Discover More-
The Missouri Gateway Chapter of the U. S. Green Building Council hosted a Local Government Green Team Meet Up in late September 2013. The Meet Up was held at the Missouri Botanical Garden and was a part of the Green Homes and Great Health Festival. A Meet Up was also held in 2012 and resources from that conference are available. The goals of the Meet Up are to network with other area green teams and share best practices.
The National League of Cities offers a Sustainable Cities Institute that provides many case studies, city profiles, and model ordinances that may be useful to a local government green team.
Some examples of cities and counties with green teams throughout the St. Louis/Southern Illinois region include the cities of Alton, Carbondale, Chesterfield, Maplewood, and University City, and St. Clair County. The names of the committees vary from Climate Protection and Energy Efficiency Committee to Citizens Committee for the Environment to Sustainability Commission but they are all green teams.
The St. Louis Rams offer environmentally conscious football fans the opportunity to watch the game for free by volunteering for their Green Team. Volunteers get free admission to the game in exchange for collecting recyclable items between each quarter.
The U.S. General Services Administration offers Seven Key Steps to establishing a green team in federal facilities. Some steps are to Establish Leadership Advocacy, Perform a Building Sustainability Assessment, and Be Ready for Challenges.
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