We've told you all about some of the incredible projects our Green Teams complete throughout the year and our plans to recognize their efforts through our shared eco art program. So today, I wanted to take a quick moment to tell you a little more about what our teams have accomplished in the last year.

First up, our Wells Fargo Insurance Green Team, which has members scattered throughout the United States, and has run an incredible energy efficiency campaign at their offices for the past three years.

The team started their energy work by hosting the Power Down Challenge, a two week contest that encouraged team members to take one eco action a day as a way to increase our overall electricity usage. The contest was held in October in honor of Energy Action Month and helped to inspire more than half of the office to participate. Although prizes were only awarded for the week, the team has seen lasting results from their efforts as more colleagues turn off the lights in unused office spaces and power down at night.

Next we'll go to Washington State, where our Seattle Green Team helped leverage their eco-enthusiasm to inspire community volunteer work. It all started on Earth Day 2011, when Green Team leader Erin Arslanagic organized a local clean-up effort with Seattle-based nonprofit EarthCorps. Her team met to clear invasive plants, such as blackberry and ivy, and create space for newly planted native species. Not only did the park clean-up event help team members get outdoors to enjoy the day, but it also inspired many of them to join their local Green Team.

Erin has already capitalized on her teammates' enthusiasm, scheduling follow-up projects for office composting and recycling, and educational events to help everyone at Wells Fargo make more sustainable choices. Her work further inspired the Wells Fargo team members in Seattle to start a Volunteer Chapter that would support all manner of community events.

Finally, we'll head to Missouri, where our amazing St. Louis Green Team has been recognized for the St. Louis Green Business Challenge Circle of Excellence for the second year in a row! In order to receive this honor, the team documented several key accomplishments for the challenge, such as:

• Introducing new single-stream recycling processes that helped to divert more than 17% of the campus' solid waste
• Installing a new real-time energy monitoring system to help reduce electricity
• Continuing to track carbon footprint to reduce emissions by an estimated 1,846 metric tons

As these stories prove, much of our success in reducing our collective environmental impact is the result of our incredible team members who inspire so many of us to take at least one small action every day!

What do YOU plan to do today to help our environment?