Next Steps

The Green Team, in conjunction with the company and/or building management, will decide the next steps to take. As part of its decision, the team will need to answer such questions as:

• Has enough time passed to accurately judge the success of the first effort?
• If so, did the team meet its goals?
• If not, can the problems be solved?
• Are team members willing and able to begin another module?
• Is the management ready to support another effort?

If the goals were not met, the Green Team needs to find out why, make corrections, and give the initiative more time to show success before beginning a new module. Without an initial success, management support for future efforts is unlikely.

Once you have the program in place and are getting measurable results, call another meeting of the Green Team to reexamine your activities. What were your other priorities?

Remember, the goal is to continually expand and improve your environmental program, thus making your business more sustainable. This Toolkit provides a suggested order, but you can implement the projects based on your priorities. The most important thing is to keep moving forward. As mentioned in the introduction, not only will you be improving the efficiencies of your office or building by operating more sustainably, you will be helping to ensure that the earth’s natural resources are available for the generations to come.