Step Three: Forming the Green Team

With support from all the necessary parties secured, the next step is to put a team in place to carry the programme through to implementation.

Purpose of the Green Team

A team approach allows the work to be distributed among several people and enables people from all over the facility, office or building to contribute to the success of the programme. The green team will be responsible for many of the tasks involved in planning, designing, implementing, and maintaining the programme.

Green Team

Your environmental team should be composed of a representative cross-section of employees, tenants, management, and facilities staff.

Selecting Team Members:

By far the most important consideration when putting together the team is to make it as representative of the organisation as possible.

The size of your team will depend on the size of your office or building and the scope of your programme. Team members can be volunteers or appointed. In either case, it is important that they are enthusiastic and able to commit time to the project. To increase motivation and interest, it is important for all involved to receive periodic recognition for their efforts.

Green Team Leader

Every team needs a leader and this must be someone who can bring energy and drive to the programme but who is also involved in a practical manner. Likely candidates would include the facilities manager, environmental manager or an employee who is known as an environmental champion.

The team leader should have a strong commitment to the goals of the programme, organisational experience, and good communication skills.

Next Steps

Once your team has been established, it should meet regularly to develop a plan, and begin implementation. The time it will take the Green Team to plan, implement, and monitor an initiative depends on the size of the facility and the type of activity (e.g., waste reduction, energy or water conservation, procurement). It is vital that adequate time is invested now and this will pay off in due course once the programme is underway.