Charleston’s Green Team

The Green Team was established by Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin and Charleston City Council in late 2020, with the first Green Team named on February 16, 2021. It is an entirely volunteer body with members selected from City residents, with an eye to trying to reflect the diversity of our city. Other communities across the country have a Green Team, including Morgantown, West Virginia. The Green Team is a citizen advisory body that helps inform the public and suggests ideas to the City of Charleston to improve sustainability.

The mission of the Green Team is to provide information and recommendations to the Mayor’s office as well as City Council and its committees on topics of energy efficiency, land use, greenspaces, water resources, transportation, litter and waste management, and recycling along with public education and communication on those and other sustainability topics and initiatives.

Green Team responsibilities are to:

• Periodically, or at the request of the Mayor or the Chair of the Environment & Recycling Committee, provide advice on the development of regulations or policies that benefit or pertain to sustainability;

• Investigate appropriate and cost-effective opportunities for implementing energy efficiency measures in all aspects of Charleston’s public buildings, including benchmarking, operational changes and changes in maintenance or capital improvements;

• Facilitate Charleston residents reducing environmental impacts through recycling, energy use, and other appropriate measures;

• Research and facilitate the use of clean, renewable energy within the City;

• Identify appropriate federal and state incentive and grant programs that provide opportunities for sustainability; and

• Engage in community outreach and education on sustainability initiatives and events.