NeighborWorks Affiliates' Green Projects

Organizational Improvements

• Neighborhood Development Services, Ravenna, OH - Sustainability Training
• Montgomery Housing Partnership, Silver Spring, MD - Green team
• Urban Edge, Roxbury, MA - Green Standards and Staff/Resident Education

Neighborhood Development Services, Ravenna, OH
Sustainability Training

Neighborhood Development Services Staff to training with Strategic Sustainability Consulting NDS Moves to Four-Day Work Week

In an effort to actively manage their environmental impacts and implement sustainability solutions in their organization, staff members at Neighborhood Development Services in Ohio took a weeklong extensive training with Strategic Sustainability Consulting, a Bethesda, MD-based company. In addition, NDS has moved to a four-day work week to help its employees save on high gas prices. (See media mentions:
Reuters | Christian Science Monitor).

Strategic Sustainability Consultants focuses on helping staff at nonprofits with limited resources to become certified strategic sustainability consultants who can perfrom carbon footprint audits not only for their own organization, but also for other organizations concerned about their carbon impact.

The training included concepts regarding climate change, waste/recycling, energy use and management, purchasing green materials, use of gasoline for commuting and during work hours, conservation and alternative travel to reduce air miles, water management, policies and procedures which can reduce carbon use, data collection, and sustainability reporting. 

The certification is based on a green audit methodology, which provides a cost effective and consistent way to assess an organization’s current environmental performance. It also identifies cost effective ways organizations can go green.

A typical audit includes a one-day assessment of resources, data collection via employee surveys as well as interviews, and reporting the findings. The second phase of this includes recommendations on lowering the organization carbon footprint. The final state is a re-assessment of an organization’s progress in reducing its carbon footprint. Learn more.

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Montgomery Housing Partnership, Silver Spring, MD
Green Team

Montogmery Housing Partnership (MHP) has launched an internal campaign to educate staff about green practices, implement energy-saving procedures, and monitor the results of efforts to green their organization. MHP established a "green team" that looked at major areas of energy consumption in MHP’s carbon footprint to determine where the greatest impact could be made.  The team gathered information and set goals, both long-term and short-term, as well as methods for measuring success. 

Several simple steps allowed the group to raise awareness among staff members and achieve some early successes. They made weekly presentations at staff meetings, ordered recycle bins for each office, and appealed to staff to turn off lights and monitors when not in use. Paper and styrofoam products in the kitchen were replaced with silverware and dishes. A list of recyclable materials was posted and a central reclycling bin placed in the kitchen. 

The organization now uses only green cleaning products and has cut paper usage by 28 percent simply by strongly encouraging two-sided printing. The organization also is considering using only recylcled paper. Used computers in storage will be picked up and recycled.

According to the energy audit, the bulk of MHP’s carbon footprint comes from commuting. While the green team has encouraged staff to use public transportation, combine trips and carpool whenever possible, they have found that these solutions are difficult for most of the staff, due to the office location and different schedules. Still, MHP is instituting programs such as monthly car-light days and other incentives to encourage staff to find creative solutions. They are considering other options as well, such as telework and flexible hours.