hello, does anyone have information which would indicate the acceptability, success rates, momentum and/or uptake of office/ departmental Green Teams as opposed to having a designated office/ departmental Sustainability/ Environmental Advocate?
I am looking at revitalising our moribund Green Team system, but wonder if there isn't a better way, and am looking at what else is 'out there'. Any information would be appreciated. Many thanks!
Leah Knapp
Ms
Murdoch University
Australia
Green Teams vs. Staff Environmental Advocate
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Leah, I've both experienced and researched that voluntary programs tend to get more uptake than mandatory/formal ones. That said, the approach you take will be determined by the wellness and readiness of your organzation to take on sustainability as a strategic imperative.
If the last program was built on the Green Team model explore what went wrong and how was it supported by Sr. Staff. A great way to get employees interested in the topic is work is to give them value for their involvement (skills development, expanded knowledge, maybe even leadership opps - so work with HR on that side of the fence). A series of lunch and learns hosted by keen and aware employees can be delivered as a means to start sharing information.
Once you have your green team in place with all the right check and balances, then you can start the process of evaluating opportunities. Oh yeah, make sure your Green Team is cross functional with support from key HR/Corporate Affairs group. Your sustainabilty efforts have both inetrnal and external accountabilities and opportunities.
If you want to make a more formal attempt, I would recommend using the CBSM model that Professor MacKenzie Mohr practices to select your approach to rolling out your new or revived program. Also, I would suggest taking a look at Dr. Stephanie Bertels work on Embedding Sustainability into Organizational Culture.
Feel free to reach out via email [email protected] or Skype kerri.lynn.brock if you are interested to hear more.
Good luck,
Kerri
Kerri Brock
Principal Strategist
Splash Concepts
Canada