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Work/School/Place
of Worship/Communities:
Schools, offices, and places of worship serve really different purposes, but you can make them all more sustainable in similar ways.Click These: Energy Action Coalition, Ohio Student Environmental Coalition
- Find people that are into sustainability.
These will be the core members of your green team. It takes a few really dedicated peeps to get things started in an organization. It's important to get people from a variety of different departments and levels of influence. For example, in a school it would be great to have students, teachers (not just science teachers! english, math... whatever!), and an administrator like a vice principal.- Set up regular meetings with your green team.
So you can talk about sustainability. Meet often enough that people remember what's going on, but not too frequently that you have nothing to talk about at your meetings.- Pick your priorities.
Have a big ol' discussion where your green team talks about how your organization could become more sustainable. When you decide what your group will focus on, consider what it will take to accomplish your goal. It might be good to start with a small goal that is easy to accomplish that will give your green team some publicity and credibility. If your green team is big enough, it might be useful to divide into committees. Some common categories of sustainability include: transportation, energy use, paper use, recycling, composting, purchasing.- Make an environmental policy and get it approved by your head honcho/honcha.
What is it that you're working for? Your environmental policy will spell all of that out. Try to cover the areas mentioned in #2 and any others you can think of!- Set goals and make a timeline for getting it done.
What steps need to be taken to achieve your environmental policy? Breaking it down into manageable tasks will increase the probability that it will actually happen.- Communicate to the wider community.
It's important to keep the wider community updated on what you're doing. It be worth it to have a publicity committee. A compost pile won't do much good if only a handful of people know about it. Educating people about your projects will not only help your organization to be more sustainable, but it might also encourage people to start taking action in their own lives. Try to find a way to get input from the wider community even if they aren't on the green team. What would they like to see to help your institution become more sustainable?- Have regular updates and evaluations.
Once a year (or so) take the time to review your environmental policy and have a discussion about how your green team is doing.- Celebrate your victories.
Throw a party, host a concert, organize a parade!- Share your story.
Don't keep your experiences to yourself. We're constantly learning more about what works and doesn't work with sustainability. Share your successes, mistakes, and lessons with other organizations that might benefit from your experience. Feel free to use the GreenLight message board as a space to share your story.- Connect with others. Check out the Ohio Student Environment Coalition.
