How to Start a Green Team for Your Nonprofit, Solar Company, or Any Organization
| August 20
As electricity prices keep going up and solar costs keep coming down, it makes more sense than ever for nonprofits to go solar. In addition to lowering your carbon footprint, solar lowers your nonprofit’s electricity bills, allowing you to focus resources on your mission.
That doesn’t mean that going solar is always simple for nonprofits. CollectiveSun is here to guide you through the process, and we’ll make it as simple as we can. You’ll also need support from within your organization. That’s where a green team can help.
What is a green team?
A green team is simply a group of people focused on promoting sustainability at an organization. In a business, a green team is generally made up of employees, supported by executive leadership. At a nonprofit, the team can include dedicated volunteers; in a house of worship, that can mean congregants.
Why start a green team?
While CollectiveSun can greatly simplify the process of going solar, we can’t make decisions for your organization — whether it’s a house of worship or another type of nonprofit. You probably can’t make decisions for your nonprofit on your own, either, especially big decisions like going solar. You’ll need to get buy-in from your organization, ideally at all levels.
A green team can help by providing education and building enthusiasm for solar and other sustainability initiatives, such as recycling programs. A green team can also make the work lighter. Joining forces with others can help you reach your sustainability goals more quickly and effectively, especially if you recruit people with a range of skills and abilities.
Building your team
When building your green team, ensure you have buy-in from your leadership to give the team legitimacy and authority. If your organization already has someone in charge of sustainability programs, approach them and see if they will sponsor or otherwise support your green team. If not, a leader at your organization can fill this role.
It’s a good idea to keep your team small and agile. If you’re in a large organization, try to get representation from all levels and departments. That way, you’ll have sustainability champions in all parts of the organization, which will help to learn about various perspectives and address any concerns. It’s important for participation to be voluntary, so that the most passionate sustainability champions are the ones involved.
Getting organized
Your team will be most successful if you hold regular meetings and events to keep people on the team and others in the organization motivated and engaged. Set clear expectations for the time commitment and effort expected from team members.
It helps to define roles for team members — even if these overlap or change over time — such as leader, executive sponsor, contributors, project managers, and communicators.
Creating a vision and plan
In defining your green team’s vision and plans, you should ensure that they align with those of your organization. The good news is that the goals of a green team are often aligned with those of faith-based organizations and other nonprofits.
For example, many churches value conservation and stewardship of the Earth. A green team can help a church live out these values within the congregation and throughout the broader community.
If your nonprofit is not environmentally oriented and has few resources to focus on anything other than its primary mission, you might look into sustainability programs that help save money, so the savings can be used to further the organization’s mission. These days, green initiatives can save money — including going solar.
What if your organization isn’t ready to go solar? Consider starting with smaller actions like switching to LED light bulbs, which can save money over time. The more green actions you take, the more sustainability will become part of your organization’s culture, paving the way for bigger actions.
Here are a few more ideas for green team initiatives:
- Switch to LED lighting and use motion sensors..
- Install a smart thermostat.
- Start a recycling and composting program.
- Provide reusable water bottles to employees.
- Conduct a water audit to support water conservation.
- Ensure your cleaning products are eco-friendly.
- Plant a pollinator garden and/or a vegetable garden.
- And, of course, go solar!
Tracking and celebrating results
Tracking the results of your sustainability initiatives is key to ensuring and continuing your green team’s success. When your nonprofit’s leaders see that a green program has saved money, increased employee or congregant engagement, or received positive attention from the wider community, they’re more likely to want to proceed with further programs. These programs can also enhance your reputation with other employees, congregants, volunteers, and community members — and as an added benefit, those people may be inspired to take green actions in their own lives.
Be sure to celebrate your wins via newsletters, social media, and any other forms of communication your organization uses. If you go solar, you can host a ribbon cutting for the community to show off your shiny new panels and answer people’s questions about solar.
Green teams are for solar companies, too!
Solar companies are already doing important sustainability work by helping homes and businesses go solar. That doesn’t mean they can’t also benefit from starting a green team.
If you work at a solar company, you can encourage your company to take all the green actions we’ve discussed, like switching to LED lighting. You can also go beyond those by looking into actions directly related to your company’s solar projects, like these:
- Aiming for zero-waste construction.
- Recycling solar panels.
- Planting pollinator-friendly ground cover for your ground-mount projects.
Getting to yes on solar — and beyond
It can take time and effort to get your nonprofit to yes on a solar project. The support of a green team can help you get there.
Once your nonprofit has said yes to solar, the green team can also help move the project along by taking on crucial tasks like gathering information on your organization’s electricity use and roofing conditions.
Your green team’s involvement doesn’t have to end there. Following a successful project, your green team can help promote the completed solar project across your organization and community.
CollectiveSun is also here to help you before, during, and after your solar is installed. We can guide you through the process of determining whether solar makes sense for your organization, including understanding the available financing options and incentives. If you’d like to explore getting solar for your nonprofit, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
