Climate Showcase Communities
    Local Climate and Energy Program
                                 Effective  Practices for  Implementing Local
                                 Climate and Energy Programs:
                                 Green Teams
 Lessons Learned by Communities for Communities
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 products or commercial services mentioned.
WHAT IS IT?
Green teams are groups of people in an organization who volunteer to work together to
achieve climate, energy, and other sustainability goals for their institutions. They may
include employees, managers, students, or others.
WHY DO IT?
•   Green teams can increase organization-wide engagement and drive commitment and
    participation.
•   Teamwork can increase project involvement and ownership, and keep projects focused,
    which can improve the likelihood of success and the continuation of green activities.
•   Green teams can bring in a variety of individuals with unique ideas.
•   Teamwork can result in better action planning and implementation than ad hoc efforts.
WHAT WORKS?
•   For institutional teams, have representation from all departments and all levels of
    management (including upper management) to ensure that the intended actions can be
    implemented.
•   Create a mission or vision for the team.
•   Ensure that team leaders are motivated and have the necessary resources.
•   Establish regular meeting dates in advance and at regular intervals. Maintain the
    meetings to keep members focused but not overloaded.
•   Create a list of action items at each meeting.
•   For large teams, establish subcommittees. Large group meetings  can often lead to the
    feeling that not much has been accomplished.
•   Help channel the energies of participants by aligning tasks with skill sets.
WHAT SHOULD YOU WATCH OUT FOR?
•   Interest can wane over time if people don't see results. Recognize successes (even small
    ones).
•   Avoid "decision paralysis" by sicking to schedules and breaking down milestones into
    achievable tasks.
•   Don't overwhelm participants. Balance team activities with regular job responsibilities.
WHAT RESOURCES HAVE PROJECTS FOUND TO BE USEFUL?
•   The Team Handbook by Peter R. Scholtes, Barbara J. Streibel,  and Brian L. Joiner
•   Get Green Columbus: columbus.gov/getgreen
                                                                   "Green teams pull diverse
                                                                   levels of management into
                                                                   the conversation for more
                                                                   effective problem solving."

                                                                   Bridget, Sustainable
                                                                   Transportation for a Sustainable
                                                                   City, Salt Lake City, Utah
                                                                   "Ensure that you have a
                                                                   balance of passionate
                                                                   members and key decision
                                                                   makers."
                                                                   Annie, Mpower ChaMpions,
                                                                   Madison, Wisconsin
£EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
                                          April 2015
EPA-430-F-15-014

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