A Blog About a Blog

Dear Readers,

I’m working on next week’s blog which will be about unexpected connections.  Think Six Degrees of Separation from Kevin Bacon.  In the midst of my research, it occurred to me that I might also write a blog about writing a blog.

It’s not as easy as it might appear.  I hope it’s evident that GreenWorksGov blogs are substantive and aim to be useful to you.  On that point, your suggestions for improving the blogs are always welcome.  I spend about eight hours researching material for each blog.  I think about topics and recent news items that pertain to sustainability or climate change and how I can relate the information to greening an office.  A basic objective, too, is that the blogs contribute to heightening awareness about sustainability issues and practical strategies for mitigating the effects of climate change. 

As a sustainability officer, I was continually on the lookout for ways to communicate with our employees about our endeavors and how individuals could impact our environment for the better.  In that vein, we sent out regular emails to employees, posted links and news on our Intranet, and publicized information about events and activities that our employees could be part of in their communities and neighborhoods.  If your green program is just getting off the ground or not as active as you’d like, you can communicate and help build awareness and support with a minimum amount of personal time and effort.

Start by sharing what’s already on the web.  There’s a wealth of great information on every imaginable aspect of environmental sustainability.  I hope you have used information or even reproduced a GreenWorksGov blog in its entirety in an email or an Intranet posting for your office.  If not, please feel free to do so!  I’ve written almost three years of blogs, one a week, so that’s about 150 blogs covering a wide range of topics.  Many of them have links that take readers to websites that apply to work or home settings in the spirit of the US Department of Energy’s mantra that employees bring their green to work. 

Also, consider writing your own office blog.   Give credit to your sources, think about changing it up among different areas of focus—paper saving practices one time, the benefits of an office plant to clean the air, or commuting alternatives and incentives  the next.   Consider leveraging timely opportunities.  California drivers are facing steep and sudden increases in gas prices.  If there was ever a moment to give employees easy access to mass transit schedules or set up a car pool connection, this is it for California green teams. 

Whether you take on the commitment to write an office blog or choose to use your email, newsletter or Intranet to share information, I recommend that you adopt some form of regular communications with employees.  Think of it, too, as a means for marketing your brand and your message, which are important to any successful venture.

Now, back to Kevin Bacon…