Professional Services

Canadian Business for Social Responsibility

Challenge

Introduction

In 2009, Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR) researched, developed and released The Green Teams Guide to help initiate and build capacity for companies’ expansion to coordinated head office and store-based teams – to encourage improved environmental stewardship and employee engagement.

As a member-based organization with the mission of Changing the Way Business Does Business, CBSR assists Canadian companies in mobilizing their employees on environmental and social issues. As ‘green teams¹’ have increased over the last few years, CBSR has observed a variety of challenges within existing teams (e.g. evaluating success, motivating employees, engaging wider staff) and a growing demand for the development of corporate and locally-based teams and committees. As a result, CBSR researched and interviewed 17 leading companies to find examples of best practice which it could share with the broader business community through The Green Teams Guide.

The Guide focuses on supporting the development, management, evaluation and ongoing improvement of green teams. Although there is no uniform approach to managing green teams – as each corporate culture requires a unique approach – this guide also offers practical company case studies that address the need for excellence in both environmental stewardship and employee engagement. Many of the recommended steps can also apply to community investment campaigns, thereby widening the capabilities of what green teams can achieve.

The Business Case: Why Green Teams?

Green Teams can increase internal environmental stewardship, employee engagement², innovation, and overall increased sense of staff being valued – especially those concerned with environmental issues and would like to make a positive impact in their company.

Green teams can successfully drive reductions and improved efficiency in areas such as paper use, office supplies and energy use – all which leads to direct cost savings in the short and long term. As a further motivator, the 2009 Hewitt Associates 50 Best Employers in Canada study reveals that social and environmental performance is strongly linked to employee engagement and satisfaction³.

Further, green teams help mobilize actions that instill a sense of pride in employee through increased social and environmental performance either in corporate offices or retail/local offices (e.g. bank branches). Though sustainability can remain outside the day-to-day work functions of most employees, green teams can bring passion and improved performance from those that wish to better the workplace through greening initiatives.

The Green Teams Guide

The following eight steps form the necessary components to a successful green team program (refer to The Green Teams Guide for detailed sections and company case studies):

1. Getting Started

Conduct a company-wide audit to know your baseline, and survey employees to gauge expectations, interests and
knowledge. Set priorities for green teams and find an executive ‘champion’ for support and credibility.

2. Structure Roles and Responsibility

A green team structure should aim to have a cross section of roles, departments and seniority levels. Teams also need to identify a ‘champion’ to lead and take ownership of various ‘campaigns’. Ideally, employee performance evaluation can recognize green team efforts (e.g. achievements and time investment).

3. Targets, Reporting and Accountability

Set goals and targets that are material to the company, and are agreed upon by local teams who are tasked with their achievement. Measuring and reporting on the progress towards set targets should be coordinated by local, regional and head office teams, along with employee and executive levels of accountability.

4. Investing in Green Teams

An annual budget for corporate and local green teams should be developed by the head office. Stores should also consider budgeting for additional locally-focused green team activities. Budgets should estimate time commitment per team member, and set parameters for meetings including length of time and frequency.

5. Cross-Departmental Engagement and Participation

Green Team diversity is directly linked to high employee participation in and success of environmental and sociallybased campaigns or drives. A corporate green team should have a wide departmental representation and specific strategies for members on how to engage staff within their own department or business unit.

6. Motivating, Empowering and Involving Employees

Encouraging an ongoing exchange of ideas is key to the long-term success of green teams. Gauge employee satisfaction/ideas through annual surveys. Consider rewarding teams or individuals for well executed campaigns.

7. Internal and External Communication

Strong communication is essential to successful employee-based initiatives. Without sharing successes, ‘feel good’ stories go untold and lessons learned are not shared. Good internal communication mobilizes and motivates staff, while external communication can enhance relations with customers and local communities.

8. Measuring and Evaluating Green Teams Performance

You can’t improve what you aren’t measuring. Green teams must have a system to track, manage and evaluate their performance against goals and targets, with a focus on continual team and company based improvement.

Conclusion

The Guide supports the development and management of green teams in an organized and systematic way. Green teams can help in meeting company wide goals of reducing environmental impacts and improving employee and community engagement. Corporate green teams drive innovation from within and allow employees to incorporate their ideas and passions into actions.

Download CBSR’s The Green Teams Guide: http://www.cbsr.ca/cbsrftp/MEH/Green_Teams_Guide-CBSR,2009.pdf

To learn more about CBSR’s work with green teams on reducing environmental footprint and strategic community investment, contact Wesley Gee, CSR Advisor and Member Development Manager at: Wesley@cbsr.ca

¹ “Green Teams are dedicated groups of employees, regardless of discipline or organizational level, which facilitate the pragmatic implementation of sustainable operations principles on their unit.” United States Department of Agriculture, Departmental Management, viewed February 4, 2010. Web source: http://greening.usda.gov/definition.htm

² “Engagement is the state of emotional and intellectual commitment to an organization—the degree to which you have captured the hearts and minds of your employees”, Neil Crawford, Hewitt Associates, for CBSR webinar, January 27, 2010.

³ Neil Crawford, Hewitt Associates, for CBSR webinar, January 27, 2010.

Strategy

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