What is a Green Team?

I recently gave a presentation about food waste at a synagogue in the Seattle area. One of the members who raised her hand during the Q&A said she was part of the synagogue’s “Green Team.” They worked on things like switching to compostable plates and forks and educating members about what to toss where. It takes a lot of reminders before everyone stops to think before tossing something into a recycling or composting bin.

At end of the event, the rabbi invited people to enjoy a lunch buffet. “We don’t want to waste this delicious food.” The table was filled with more food than the group of 30 could eat. Old habits are hard to break.

Green Teams like the one at the synagogue are helpful. They can encourage positive changes on a small scale. As I often tell people, individual actions do matter. They are often the stepping stone toward more actions involving larger groups of people.

Corporate Green Teams

The focus in my book Beyond the Green Team is on businesses, especially those in manufacturing industries. I want readers to reimagine what a Green Team can accomplish.

Companies sometimes create a green team to work on sustainability or corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. Individual “green champions” or small, informal Green Teams inside a company can achieve small wins. They might sponsor a day of service in the community or eliminate disposable coffee cups in the cafeteria.

These actions can feel good and temporarily boost morale, but they won’t lead to the kind of change that is sorely needed.

Unless the Green Team has the power to make revolutionary changes in the organization, participants may quickly become disenchanted and discouraged.

Support From the Top

For a company to make changes that truly advance sustainability, direction needs to come from the top and spread throughout the organization. It needs to encompass all departments, locations, and product lines. 

Bottom-up or grassroots initiatives have a hard time sustaining momentum if the management does not listen to or support their proposals. Enthusiasm starts high but fizzles out when suggestions get shut down. Employees hear the message that there is no time nor money available to focus on their pet projects.

Many organizations are recognizing this need for sustainability work to begin at the highest corporate level. Since 2019, dozens of companies have hired their first ever Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO). The CSO oversees overall sustainability strategy and is also usually responsible for ensuring that it gets communicated to every employee.

The sustainability leader doesn’t have to hold the title of CSO. They might be called a Sustainability Director or head up a different department.

In smaller companies, director-level employees often have multiple roles. Perhaps they direct communications or environmental health and safety (EHS) and sustainability. If their primary job is to manage external communications, they don’t have time to consider employee engagement. If they are focused on minimizing workplace injuries, environmental concerns take a back seat.

Sustainability strategy may not be anyone’s official responsibility. This can be a problem. But it is possible to find employees who want to do more in this area and empower them to act.

Note: This blog includes excerpts from Chapter 2 of Beyond the Green Team. The chapter says a lot more about how to involve employees in various departments and communicate your new approach throughout the organization.