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Green Teams

Green Team

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What is a Green Team?

A green team is a group of employees, regardless of discipline or organizational level that facilitates the pragmatic implementation of sustainable operations principles on their work site. In the Forest Service, green teams range from the informal – a few employees working together to increase recycling opportunities for themselves and their community, to the formal – a group specifically chartered by leadership to promote and foster sustainable operations that reduce the unit’s environmental footprint. Successful green teams are very “local or place-based,” and the issues they choose to work on are meaningful to their specific business unit, organization, community and/or geographic location. What is sustainable in one location may be very different in another location because the natural resources, culture, economic situations, and/or opportunities are all different. Many green teams begin as an internal effort and they often grow to include members of the local community or other state, federal, or local agencies so that sustainable operations efforts can become successful on a larger scale (facility-wide, community, or an ecosystem).

Most green teams choose to work across many environmental footprint areas (water conservation, energy conservation/renewable energy, waste prevention/recycling, green purchasing, fleet/transportation, sustainable leadership). However, some green teams have been created with membership across geographic units to specifically foster dialog about the sustainable operations opportunities within a particular topic area such as recreation or energy management. We have a cadre of champions to share information and ideas, and resource materials are available to assist in starting a green team in your location.

Green Team Toolkit

Are you looking to start a green team, locate green team leaders, generate new ideas for a team you are already involved in, or investigating what a green team is all about?

The Green Team Toolkit is an online repository for all things ‘green team.’ We even have a link for you to post tips & tricks, tools, advice, and success stories to a Google share site accessible exclusively to Forest Service employees.

Come in and see what you can do to take steps to create a more successful green team, a sustainable work setting, and to gain the knowledge you’ll need to reduce the Forest Service’s environmental footprint with the Green Team Toolkit. The tools for creating a sustainable operating environment are only a click away.


[Photo] Representatives of 30 plus green teams in the Forest Service, that made progress in 2007 at the Sustainable Operations Summit in Denver, Colo. November 13-16.
Photo by Janelle Smith, Communications and Legislative Affairs, Rocky Mountain Region.

Does the Forest Service Have Green Teams in Place?

The Forest Service currently has 31 active green teams, but this number is growing all the time. Below is a current list of active teams:

  • R1, R2, R3, R4, BLM, EPA, RMRS Sustainable Operations Board of Directors
  • Region 1 – Northern Region
    • Northern Regional Office
  • Region 2 – Rocky Mountain Region
    • Rocky Mountain Region Regional Office
    • Rocky Mountain Region Energy Management Team (USFS, BLM, NREL)
    • Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee – Sustainable Operations Subcommittee
    • Multi-Regional Green Purchasing Team
    • Bighorn National Forest
    • Medicine Bow Routt National Forest
    • Nebraska National Forest – Bessey Nursery
    • San Juan Public Lands Unit (BLM/USFS)
    • Pagosa Ranger District
    • Pikes Peak Ranger District
    • Sustainable Ops and Recreation
  • Region 4 – Intermountain Region
  • Region 5 - Pacific Southwest Region
    • Lassen National Forest
  • Region 6 – Pacific Northwest Region
    • Region 6 Sustainability Board
    • Mt. Hood National Forest
    • Siuslaw national Forest
    • Willamette National Forest
  • Region 9 – Eastern Region
  • Region 10 – Alaska Region
  • Northeastern Area / Northern Research Station
  • Pacific Southwest Research Station
  • Rocky Mountain Research Station
  • Pacific Northwest Station
  • International Institute of Tropical Forestry
  • International Forestry
  • Washington Office Headquarters

Greening Tools

Presentations

Letters from Leadership

August 2008

Additional Information

All Forest Service

National Headquarters - Washington Office

R5 - Pacific Southwest Region

Last Modified: 10/23/2008