Waste and Recycling

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Form an employee-run green team

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Forming an employee-run green team can inspire and encourage colleagues to make sound environmental choices in every facet of their working lives. Green teams also influence management to make higher level changes in the company, such as developing green purchasing policies, providing subsidies for eco-friendly commuting practices, and sponsoring other company-wide environmental strategies.

How to form an employee-run green team

An office green team can raise staff awareness of environmental issues related to daily office activities and provide tangible, sustainable alternatives to the most environmentally-destructive practices through education and training. Green teams consist of staff who volunteer a small portion of their time on a regular basis to develop and promote an office greening program.

Form the team and create a program

  • Be sure to have the support of higher management for your green team. Better yet, invite one of them to sit on the committee.
  • Assess 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.
  • Sift through the tips here and on other green office websites to determine which changes can be implemented to have the greatest impact.
  • Appoint an energy manager to track energy use, research new energy-efficient products and services, and make sure your office is taking advantage of utility incentives.
  • Assign someone on the team to be the recycling coordinator. This person will track recycling efforts, research new waste reduction opportunities, and ensure recycling is maximized.
  • Develop a name for your office greening program and get someone in the office to design a logo. Use this name and logo on all communications to promote your greening efforts.

Educate and encourage colleagues to adopt green office practices

  • Develop a noticeboard for your green office program where you can post helpful hints, new policies, progress reports, and other notices. Chart your progress, making sure to emphasize your successes, such as the number of trees spared, energy and water saved, amount of waste diverted from the landfill via recycling, etc.
  • Post notices in key areas of the office to educate staff on simple ways to go green. Signs can include reminders near the photocopier to double-side as often as possible, notes in break areas encouraging staff to use non-disposable mugs and cups, and small reminders near thermostats encouraging people to use air conditioning and heat in moderation.
  • If your office creates a regular newsletter, be sure to include regular notes and articles about your green program. If it's a printed newsletter, encourage those producing it to use recycled paper.
  • When new employees are hired, give them a ‘green orientation’ tour so they're familiar with the environmental policies and practices your office endorses.
  • Conduct regular information sessions on how employees can make a greater environmental impact. Sessions might include: training IT managers how to purchase energy-efficient equipment; educating administrative support staff on paper-conserving practices; alerting custodial staff about the hazards of various cleaning supplies; guidance for all staff on proper recycling etiquette.
  • Provide a way for staff to give feedback and suggestions to your green team. This could consist simply of a rudimentary suggestion box in the photocopy room or a green hotline, available either through email or the telephone. It should be monitored regularly and all ideas should be discussed in regular meetings.

Forming an employee-run green team helps your office go green because...

  • The cumulative impact of water, energy, and paper use by offices throughout the US is enormous. Employee-run green teams can become great catalysts for thousands of small changes, which together, create tremendous benefits for the planet.[1]

Studies have shown that the average office worker uses a sheet of paper every 12 minutes, which amounts to 100-200 pounds of paper per person being discarded of each year. Business demand for paper is estimated to increase 20 percent annually.[2] In the US, offices account for 19 percent of all commercial energy consumption, and of that, 70 percent is used for electricity (lighting, temperature control, and electronic equipment).[3] Toilets and urinals are responsible for one-third of all water used in US office buildings. Older, more wasteful toilets use 3.5 to seven gallons of water (compared to 1.6 gallons or less required of new toilets). This is similar to common urinals, which use three gallons per flush.[1]

Green teams increase staff awareness about the environmental impacts associated with everyday office practices.[4] Working together, employees can encourage and facilitate environmental change for an entire organization. By generating ideas and initiative and engaging colleagues in change, green teams can greatly reduce the overall environmental footprint of their office.[1]

Many successful changes have been made by businesses aiming to go green. For instance, IBM saved nearly $18 million in one year by encouraging staff to turn off equipment and lights when not in use.[3] Similarly, Owens Corning once used 14,000 filing cabinets to store all its paper files, but by going “paperless,” has saved $30 million in lease costs.[1]

External links

Footnotes

  1. City of Portland, OR - Office of Sustainable Development: Green Office Guide
  2. ForestEthics - Business Guide to Paper Reduction
  3. GreenBiz.com - Seven Key Steps to Reducing Your Office’s Contribution to Climate Change
  4. Edith Cowan University - EcoECU: Green Office Program