New Green Teams Report Presents Framework for Delivering Value

Sept. 22, 2010 - PRLog -- AltaTerra Research is pleased to announce the release of the new report, “Green Teams and Value: Engaging Employees in Meeting Sustainability Goals.” At their best, green teams engage employees, foster creativity and new ideas, are well connected, support sustainability goals, and produce meaningful results. Alternatively, green teams may struggle with identity and direction, limited results, and frustrated members. This report focuses on the value and return on investment (ROI) that green teams can help to deliver, and how they are best organized to do so. Among the key findings is the authors’ identification of six general categories of green team activity and business contribution, and the organization of these activity categories into a framework based on scope and value.

“We did this research in response to green team leaders asking for more information on the ROI of green teams,” explained Anneke Hohl, lead author on the report. “One of the primary questions we address is what volunteer green teams can do to help deliver value to their organizations. At the highest level, our answer to this question is that there’s a lot that green teams can do, but the nature of the value they add varies widely. Depending on the activity, green teams can add value both directly and indirectly – and in both operational and go-to-market capacities.”  

In response to AltaTerra’s introduction of the report in a recent online conference, Linda Brughelli, chair of the Green Office for the California Department of Justice/Office of the Attorney General, noted, “I found value in the idea of applying the contribution framework to understanding the value our Green Office program has reaped and I took away some ideas eBay has used to success that we could apply in our greening effort.”

The report also describes key program success factors, including bidirectional communication, effective decision-making processes, organizational connectivity, maintaining enthusiasm, and measuring success; how leading organizations are organizing around these key capabilities to create successful support structures for green team programs; and concludes with recommendations for action by green teams and leaders at functional and executive levels.

This report will be useful for green teams, sustainability and human resources professionals, and general management.

Among the companies interviewed and highlighted in the report are: eBay, EMC, Genentech, Lockheed Martin, and Palm (recently acquired by HP).

Further information and a link to download a free summary of the report are available at: http://www.altaterra.net/members/blog_view.asp?id=272897&....

On September 16, AltaTerra and eBay presented an online conference based on this report. Information about accessing the recording of this event, and associated materials, is available at: https://altaterra.site-ym.com/store/view_product.asp?id=5....

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About AltaTerra Research:
AltaTerra Research is a research consultancy specializing in sustainable business and the commercial marketplace for clean technology solutions. Through research reports, executive events and advisory services, AltaTerra helps forward-looking organizations improve resource-efficiency in their operations and capitalize on new 'green' market opportunities. From our headquarters in Silicon Valley, we have been serving a global base of corporate, institutional, and government clients since 2007. More information is available at www.AltaTerra.net.