eBay employees have gone green, and the company hopes its users will follow suit by joining the newly formed eBay Green Team.
At ebaygreenteam.com, eBay users will find content, tips and suggestions on how to buy eco-friendly merchandise, as well as resources from environmental experts. eBay says the new site is a "go-to destination for consumers interested in sharing and hearing from others about why and how they are shopping greener."
eBay's environmental efforts makes sense because the online marketplace is a venue for buying and selling used and refurbished goods that might otherwise end up in landfills, notes Alan Marks, eBay's senior vice president for global communications.
"We never set out to be a green business," Marks says. "We realized it's intrinsic."
According to the company, the eBay Green Team grew out of a grassroots effort by eBay employees who were passionate about the environment and wanted to put their eco-friendly values to work.
These employees led eBay to construct the first building built to LEED Gold Standards in San Jose, CA. The structure features the city's largest solar panel installation. eBay has also been carbon neutral since 2007 by being energy efficient and looking into alternative power, the company reports.
Currently more than 1,000 eBay employees in 18 countries are Green Team members.
"The eBay Green Team effort, which was inspired by our own community and employees' accomplishments, will continue to encourage these behaviors and promote new ways of thinking about shopping green," says eBay President and CEO John Donahoe.
In April, the company will launch "30 Days of Green," an extension of Hearst Magazine's "30 Days" franchise. eBay officials hope to get more than 70 million readers and 100 million online users to go green. The organization has even branched out into the Facebook to attract more team members.
"eBay's global community of more than 86 million active buyers and sellers supports more sustainable commerce every day," Donahoe notes. "The greenest products are often ones that already exist, and eBay creates a global market for used, refurbished, vintage and even new products from excess retail inventory."
Auctiva staff writers constantly monitor trends and best practices of those selling on eBay and elsewhere online. They attend relevant training seminars and trade shows and regularly discuss the market with PowerSellers and other market experts.
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