Establishing a Green Team at Work

 

I’m on the Green Team at the hospital where I work, and it’s a rewarding experience! Our purpose is to educate staff and initiate processes that promote green initiatives and sustainability of our environment, inside and outside, the workplace. If you are interested in establishing a Green Team at your workplace below are several ways to get started!

How to began:

First form a group of individuals in your company who have expressed interest in the topic of green living or sustainability. Our Green Team is made up of numerous employees from various departments throughout the hospital. We have members from Environmental Services, Nursing Services, Laboratory, Medical Library and other departments.

The chairman of our group is the director of the hospital’s Supply Chain. He maintains contact with all the suppliers for the hospital, reports directly to the executive staff and sets the time and place for the meetings.

Establish commitment with the team and set meeting times: 

It’s vital for everyone on the team to be committed and take the meeting seriously. Members should bring ideas to the table and review suggestions with the intention to take action.

We meet on a monthly basis to go over ongoing projects and discuss new ideas. During the Spring when we plan our Earth Day Fair, we meet about every other week to go over all details.

Review your company, set goals and get creative with what you want to accomplish:

Your first meeting should be about discussing where your company currently stands in terms of being green. If your company is taking part in actions that are green, where are there areas for improvement?

Explain that there are different sides to being green, such as reducing waste, energy conservation and reducing water waste.

Being in a hospital our goals for going green are probably different from other places of business. There are certain types of waste that must happen to keep people healthy and safe. However, there are many ways we can make a difference in our daily functions to be more green!

After you assess where your company stands on being green, make a list of goals you want to accomplish this year. Brainstorm together and talk about the steps needed to achieve these goals.

Once you’ve set some goals for your group to achieve throughout the year, have everyone report back at the next meeting to update on progress. Duties should be divided so everyone has a part.

A few examples of our projects and initiatives:

• Energy efficient lighting in all new construction at the hospital.
• Established a printer cartridge recycling system.
• Recycling of batteries.
• Process implemented to recycle plastic, bottles, aluminum cans.
• Installed a compactor for corrugated material. We recycled 229.28 tons of cardboard last year.
• Over 44,000 pounds of plastic were kept out of the landfill because we setup a reusable sharps containers system.
• Hosted an Earth Day Fair in the Medical Mall for employees, patients and visitors.
• Created the “Did You Know Series?”Green tips and ideas placed on our hospital’s internal internet page for employees.

Take action and discuss ideas to your company:

Many of your ideas and goals mean changes within the company, and you will need to talk with the executive staff for approval. Be prepared with your presentation and have an outline ready. Inform the staff of the actions you want to take and how those actions will benefit the company.

One of our goals was to install more energy efficient lighting in several departments throughout the hospital. The team explained how the organization could save money on the electricity bill by switching to more efficient lighting.

Celebrate:

Be sure to celebrate your accomplishments! Weather it’s an event, newsletter or party allow everyone to recognize the admirable things the Green Team can do.

We celebrate the Earth and our Green Team by hosting an Earth Day Fair every Spring. The Fair offers tips and ideas on how to get involved in helping the Earth at home and in the community as well as educating people on how to protect the Earth for future generations.

At the Fair we have a booth set up to show off all our finished projects and accomplishments throughout the years.

The event featured several different local vendors with information about energy efficient appliances and light bulbs, waste product decomposition timelines, chemical free cleaning, disposal of old medications, recycling single use surgical instruments and devices, grants for school gardens, growing vegetables at home and organic dog food samples. There was also an organic farmers market and samples from an organic honey farm. At the event we had a fun recycling game where contests could win prizes!

Starting a Green Team will require some work initially, but it will be worth the effort!