Earth Week 2011: Almaden Green Team

“To provide a safe and healthful workplace.” Established over 50 years ago as part of IBM’s Corporate Policy, this value is instilled by IBMers worldwide, led by the efforts of environmental engineers who help provide employees an environmentally friendly workplace. At Almaden, our leading expert in leading a green work life is Michelle Mesler. In the following guest blog post, Michelle walks us through the efforts of Almaden's "Green Team."

In August 2008, Almaden’s Green Team was formed as a way for employees to influence and improve the workplace environment. The following mission was established: “We are a volunteer community of energy and environmental advocates striving to create and lead grass-roots efforts to reduce our carbon footprint at work.” Throughout the year the team works on various projects of interest including: energy and water conservation, recycling improvements, greening of the cafeteria, Earth Week events, educational outreach and community service.

One of the team’s initiatives, the Print Smarter Campaign, resulted in a reduction of paper consumption at Almaden by 10.8% in 2010 over 2009, saving 3 trees/month and 16.3% in 2009, saving 4.6 trees/month. Other accomplishments include replacing 8 chemicals used by Almaden's janitorial service contractor with environmentally-friendly green-certified chemicals, reducing the amount of styrofoam used in the cafeteria, and securing a green shuttle service contract for the site that uses a new 22-passenger clean air van fueled by propane.

Each year, the Green Team volunteers plan a variety of activities for employees to engage in , like talks, walks, gardening and trail maintenance. Last year on April 16, approximately 136 people including external visitors from the Audobon Society joined guest speaker Steve Simmons for a talk titled “One Person Can Make a Difference: Impact of Building Thousands of Nest Boxes and Banding Thousands of Birds.” A “Sustainable Landscape” talk was hosted by guest speaker Master Gardener, Deva Luna, who discussed how to plant and maintain a sustainable landscape at home including using native plants, edible plants and reusing gray water. 55 employees participated in a relaxing and informational walk around the building, learning about different ways to be green and collecting cards on a quest to obtain the best poker hand. A Day of Caring off-site at Full Circle Farm brought together 13 volunteers who planted basil, tomatoes and squash in the greenhouse. A second Day of Caring with the Volunteer Management Unit for the City of San Jose provided volunteers the opportunity to clean up a 1.2 mile segment of Calero Creek Trail at the entrance of IBM Research - Almaden.

In addition to the outreach activities that the Green Team implements on-site for the employee population, the team also strives to educate the community on ways they can reduce their impact on the natural environment. For example, during Earth Week last year, six IBMers visited ten classrooms at a local elementary school to present the “Help Kids Go Green" On Demand Community Solution Educational Activity. During the hour-long visit, the volunteers taught children how to go green by reducing, reusing and recycling. A short hands-on project for the students focused on recycling and green power, and they also go to play a "green" themed Jeopardy game.

With every project and idea implemented, Almaden’s Green Team volunteers look for ways that employees can reduce their carbon footprint at work and in their community throughout the year. We all play a role in conserving our natural resources. Together we can build a smarter planet!

To learn more about IBM’s Corporate Environmental Affairs Policy, Global Environmental Management System, volunteer initiatives or to read the annual Environmental Report, click here.

Michelle is an Environmental Engineer with the Real Estate and Site Operations (RESO) Organization. She assures compliance with various environmental regulations and oversees the environmental management system at IBM Almaden Research and Silicon Valley Lab. She strives to provide continual improvement to IBM's environmental and chemical programs and led the initiative to obtain Green Business Certification for IBM Almaden in 2005. In 2008, Michelle created a Green Team for Almaden, a volunteer community of energy and environmental advocates striving to create and lead grass-roots efforts to reduce their carbon footprint at work.

Michelle holds Bachelor degrees in Biology and Environmental Science, as well as, a Masters degree in Environmental Science Management. Prior to joining IBM, Michelle implemented environmental, health and safety programs and systems for NiSource Inc., a public utility holding company.