Organizing For Sustainability

The following content directly and purposely aligns with the ‘Using this Guide’ chapter of the Guide. Site Green Teams should read ‘Using this Guide’ before beginning the activities found within this section to better understand how to successfully form, organize, and plan greening activities. Each of the three sections below is relevant to a newly formed Site Green Team. Experienced Site Green Teams that are already organized should review each section to determine which steps should be implemented to formalize and strengthen their team and processes.

Formalize the Team

Developing a collaborative and action-oriented team should be the main focus of the first few meetings of a newly formed Site Green Team. The following steps provide guidance on using these key foundational meetings to formalize standard protocol for meetings and activities, and to generate interest in and commitment to the team.

Step 1: Develop support. Gain approval from immediate supervisor(s) before making a recruitment call to form a Site Green Team. Share a copy of the Guide with management and ask them to read the Foreword and Introduction.

Step 2: Organize for the meeting.  Communicate the recruitment call and announce the inaugural meeting (Figure 3). In addition, take time to personally recruit critical stakeholders to join the team, people who can help remove roadblocks and identify opportunities. Valuable members typically contributing to Site Green Teams include: PUB, FAC, ICT, GEN, SEC, CML, FIN, and EHS staff, fleet managers and drivers, and gardeners. Consider the list of those indicated in the Guide: ‘Using this Guide’. Share a copy of the Guide with these potential team members and ask them to read the Foreword and Introduction.

Figure 3: A template for green team recruitment 

Step 3: Review the Guide and create a draft team charter for discussion with the team. 

Step 4: an annual kick-off meeting. Develop an agenda to assist in organizing notes. Following are some suggestions for the meeting agenda.

• Introductions: The individual or group of individuals who championed the meeting should share why formalizing a Green Team is important. If meeting attendance isn’t too large, ask participants to introduce themselves (name, title, and department). If there is time, encourage them to share why they are interested in the green team and what they hope to contribute.
• Discussion questions: To engage discussion from those in attendance, ask some simple, but provocative, questions to emphasize why the post needs a green team and why individuals should volunteer to be a part of it. Some sample questions include:
  
  • Has anyone participated on a Green Team at another site? If so, what lessons were learned?
  • What sustainability challenges do you think we face at this site?
  • What kinds of projects, activities, and goals do you hope can be implemented by the green team?
  • What do you think motivates people to change their behavior?
  • What should be our Green Team’s focus and why?
• Resources: Introduce or reintroduce the Guide, note where it can be found online, and describe the kind of information included. Introduce the tools available in the Guide and direct those in attendance to its location and tell how it can be used.
• Charter: Present the draft team charter. Go over the intent of the charter and encourage people to share their thoughts on the Greening Council’s mission statement and guiding principles.
• Next Steps: Ensure that the meeting ends with a summary of the next steps for advancing the formalization of the green team. Next steps should include further review of the charter, as needed, and establishment of team roles and responsibilities. Set a time to reconvene. Be sure to record meeting minutes and new agenda items for the next meeting.

Step 5: Determine rules of order. If interest is high and there are ten or more team members, consider adopting a formal process to manage future meetings to ensure respect and open communication. Robert’s Rules of Order can be used to manage group discussions to create simple or more rigorous meeting processes.

• A Summary of the Guiding Principles of Robert’s Rules of Order
  
  • All members are equal and should have equal rights and access to participation.
  • All members have the right to participate in discussion, if they wish, before anyone may speak a second time.
  • All members have the right to know what is going on at all times.
  • Matters should be considered one at a time according to their importance.
  • There should always be full discussion on a matter before action is taken.
  • Discussions and actions should focus on propositions rather than on persons.
  • Under normal circumstances, the majority rules and makes all decisions.
  • A two-thirds majority is required for extraordinary questions or propositions.
  • Silence by the assembly gives implied consent and the assembly may move forward as if the matter has been adopted.
  • Only urgent matters may interrupt a speaker.

Establish Roles

All Green Teams need dedicated leaders to help keep the Green Team focused, committed to common goals, and able to track greening activities, from initial idea to reports of success. The following steps help ensure that the right leaders are identified, and their roles and responsibilities are clearly articulated and recognized by all members of the team.

Step 1: Identify strengths and weaknesses of the team. Review the strengths of participants in the inaugural meeting and identify and recruit critical participants who might have been missing. Valuable team members are listed within Step 2 of Formalize the Team.

Step 2: Define framework. In the meeting, identify a leader or chairperson of the Green Team. Leadership responsibilities are outlined in the Guide: ‘Using this Guide’, Organizing for Sustainability. Be sure that the leader meets the qualifications and aptitude, and has a desire for the position. Establish a term for the leader, such as one or two years.

Step 3: Define roles and responsibilities. Discuss adding other roles to the team to help give each participant an opportunity to demonstrate results. The team may want to establish roles following the committee categories of the Greening Council Working Group: Policy & Metrics, Communications, Ideas & Outreach, and Official Events (Figure 4). Details on these roles can be found in the Greening Council Charter. Alternatively, your team may want to organize roles around the categories of the annual GDI Activities Survey: Facilities, Transportation, Procurement, Information Technology (IT), Recycling, and Leading by Example. Although not required, a team may elect to create a staff position dedicated to accomplishing sustainability goals. If you wish to formalize a position such as a Greening Coordinator, Energy Manager, and/or Resource Conservation Specialist, refer to the Shared Resources Library for examples of these documents.

Figure 4: A Green Team is organized into teams that implement key functions of greening activities

Adopt a Site Green Team Charter

Before individuals formally assume their roles, be sure to obtain the approval of their supervisor(s).  This document records the time commitment that members plan to contribute to the team and helps the team achieve support for implementing future greening activities.

Step 1: Hold a charter adoption meeting. During this meeting, review the Greening Council’s mission and guiding principles and determine if they fit the needs of your site. Supplement or augment them as required to connect with the priorities of your site’s context and location concerns. Figure 5 provides a list of action-orientated words that can be used to refine the charter. Discussing these words collaboratively can help build consensus on unique adjustments to the charter to make it more meaningful to your team.

Step 2: Finalize the team charter. This tool should be shared with your supervisor(s) to gain approval. If you have already formed a Green Team, use the charter document to formalize your group. Once the charter has been authorized, your team should begin to meet formally on a regular basis to plan, implement, and celebrate greening activities undertaken by the team.

Figure 5: Consider modifying your team’s mission statement using the following action orientated words

Source: U.S. Department of State