Maryanne Conlin
There’s a lot of excitement out there, especially in the green sector, about President Obama’s plans to improve the economy. That much of the stimulus is also environmentally friendly means more growth in the green sector. And that means more green jobs.
Fast Company cites that:
“Massive investments in clean energy promise to keep farmers, urban planners, and green-tech entrepreneurs in business for the next decade.”
And they bring us a list of the ten best green jobs for the next decade.
- Farmer
- Forester
- Solar Power Installer
- Energy efficiency builder
- Wind Turbine Fabricator
- Conservation Biologist
- Green MBA and Entrepreneur
- Recycler
- Sustainability Systems Developer
- Urban Planner
What I found interesting in this report, and a comment that fits well with traditional employment in tough times is the emphasis on consulting services.
“The concept of the triple bottom line has migrated from the margins to the mainstream of the business world. A recent report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Mayors Climate Protection Center found that business services like legal, research and consulting account for the majority of all green jobs — over 400,000. This includes everything from marketing to the LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) segment, to serving as a VP of sustainability within a large company, to piloting a green startup like Method or Recyclebank.”
So, if you have the green credentials, opportunities should abound. Perhaps that isn’t as an employee just yet, but as credit loosens, still cautious companies will begin hiring consultants and temporary workers. While this may not be what newly minted MBAs planned – it’s not a bad way to start.
Photo Credit: green4all at Flickr Under Creative Commons License
Investing stimulus money in renewable energy developers has a multiplier effect and should be considered a priority by State governments and the Obama Administration. With shovel read projects developers: a) keep their own businesses running and perhaps hire more staff, b) hire engineers, construction, and other subcontractors keeping or adding jobs in those companies, c) buy turbines, solar panels and component parts keeping or adding jobs in all of those companies, and d) cities/towns get low-cost renewable energy for municipal facilities such as schools, fire stations, or waste water treatment plants. And in many states renewable energy tax credits mean towns can actually reduce their expenses thereby lowering the cost of providing these essential services which has a direct impact on property taxes.
There are many ‘shovel ready’ projects throughout the country. Many communities are strongly behind renewable energy in appropriate locations and of appropriate size. Every dollar invested by the State or Federal government in building a network of distributed renewable energy generating facilities has both immediate tactical benefits to the local economy and strategic benefit to the nation.
Read more at http://www.buildbabybuild.net.
Don’t forget the Chief Green Officer or Chief Sustainability Officer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Green_Officer