By Michelle LaBrosse, Erica Edmond

Here are our top five ways to bring some green ingenuity to your every day project management.

1. Green Materials Maven 
Are you using materials that have been recycled and are you recycling the materials that youre currently using? Regardless of what industry that you work in, just a little research can make a big difference, in your projects carbon footprint.

2. Packing Green 
Packing materials for products can produce a lot of waste. Can you use recycled materials for packing like old newspapers? There are also biodegradable packing peanuts and environmentally friendly soft foam.

3. Green Team
There are hundreds of ways to make your office greener. Here are just a few to get you started:
-Use coffee mugs instead of paper or Styrofoam.
-If you are a small or home-based office, you can produce your own energy. Visit www.cheetahpower.com for more information.
-If you cant produce your own energy, look for a supplier that is producing green energy in your area.
-Put automatic timers or sensor lights in your bathroom, conference rooms or spaces that are not occupied the majority of the day.
-Use as much natural light as possible in the design of your office space.
-Use energy saving light bulbs.
-Switch off computers, photocopiers and other equipment when not being used.
-Buy office equipment with the best energy ratings.
-Use green materials when building out a new office, like bamboo instead of wood flooring.
-Use refillable vs. disposable pens.
-Buy green products for your office--everything from toilet paper to recycled paper for printing.
-Promote a reuse mentality and lead by example.
-Promote think before you print.

-Use environmental or natural cleaning products.
-Support and buy the products of other vendors and suppliers who are eco-friendly.
-Support virtual office employees or support car-pooling and ride sharing if in a suburban area.
-If youre in a rural area, can you create a wildlife trust around your companys property?

4. Make a Commitment to Green 
When you make green more than a passing fancy, you show your team, and your customers that you mean business. Youre not just being trendy; youre making changes that impact the world around you.

5. PR with Heart & Soul 
Lets face it, theres a lot of bad news out there. Your customers do want to hear about the good things that youre doing. So, if you have a green initiative or a project with a green heart and soul, talk about it. Get the buzz going. Green PR is only bad, when its insincere.
So, when it comes to greening up the planet, who better to lead the charge than Project Managers? Who knows better than you about tackling something large with small milestones that make a big difference! So, Kermit, it can be easy being Green. Just bring a project manager on board to get it done.

Michelle LaBrosse, MSME, PMP, is founder of Cheetah Learning (www.cheetahlearning.com) and Cheetah Power (www.cheetahpower.net). LaBrosse is an engineer and an entrepreneur with expertise in both aerospace and mechanical engineering. She started her career as an Air Force officer in the field of aircraft structures and vibrations; a challenge that resonates today with some of the technical challenges encountered with wind power.
Erica Edmond, CAPM, is with Cheetah Green Team. A marketing intern for Cheetah Learning and Cheetah Power, Edmond is Cheetah? go-to resource for all things green. She researches and writes the Cheetah Power newsletter and is also a research assistant for a communication professor at the University of Portland.

For more information, please send your e-mails to pved@infothe.com.

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