The Green Collar Job

Environmental & Economic Benefits

A new color class of jobs that could cross all lines, including the unemployment line, is here. It’s called "green-collar jobs," and could save our environment and economy. This blossoming sector includes technicians in the renewable energy and energy-efficiency industries, in which there are already 8.75 million U.S. jobs.

The term “Green Collar Jobs” was first coined by Alan Durning in his 1999 book, Green Collar Jobs. His book examines the move from economic dependence on logging timber to “green-collar” jobs such as sustainable forestry, ecosystem restoration and tourism in the post logging rural towns of the Pacific Northwest.

Urban Studies Professor Raquel Pinderhughes, of San Francisco State University, first defined green collar jobs in 2006 as “manual-labor jobs in businesses (or other enterprises) whose products and services directly improve environmental quality.” She identified 22 economic sectors in which green jobs are located, including green building, energy retrofits and sustainable food production.

By the year 2030 the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries are poised to generate up to 40 million U.S. jobs and generate $4.5 trillion in revenue if public policies, including a renewable portfolio standard, incentives, public education, and R&D are put in place, according to a recent report.

The report was commissioned by the American Solar Energy Society, a leading nonprofit dedicated to advancing the U.S. toward a sustainable energy economy. “Everyone knew the renewable energy boom was coming, it just showed up sooner than anyone expected,” said Neal Lurie, Director of Marketing of the American Solar Energy Society.

Internationally renowned energy economist Roger Bezdek, Ph.D., President of Management Information Services, Inc., based in Washington, D.C., led the research. Download the data: www.ases.org

Key findings of the report include:

• The 40 million jobs that could be created in renewable energy and energy efficiency by 2030 include millions of new jobs in manufacturing, construction, accounting, and management
• Renewable energy and energy efficiency industries today produce nearly $1 trillion in revenue in the U.S. generating more than $150 billion in tax revenue at the federal, state, and local levels
• Revenue from the energy efficiency sector, including from energy efficient appliances, insulation, windows and recycling, is currently larger than revenue from renewable energy, but the renewable energy industry is growing much more quickly
• Solar, wind, ethanol, and electric vehicles are likely to be some of the hottest areas of growth

The energy bill passed in 2007 does authorize $125 million for green-collar job training programs in 2008 but the industry says that isn't enough to keep more of the jobs from getting outsourced. Some of the jobs can’t be outsourced, such as Home Energy Star Rater, or solar installer or spray foam operator.

For those who are looking for some adventure, hard work, a secure future and want to be in on the nuts and bolts of it, getting some dark green training is advisable, which can come from a combination of “learn as you earn” on the job training, and formal classroom or online study.

There are a light green variety of jobs on the horizon for those who aren’t up for the demands of a dark green job, such as bolting down solar panels, or operating a spray foam machine. The light green jobs include salespeople, marketers and managers to handle procurement and sales of Renewable Energy Certificates (REC), administrators and assistants to process paperwork involved with incentives, lobbyists to help pass favorable legislation for the environment and lawyers to handle legal interests of the green business.

Becoming certified in a Home Energy Rater System (as a HERS rater), or in the Building Performance Institute (BPI) as a certified energy auditor, is a hot field right now. This usually requires a combination of work in a related area, along with technical classroom training on the latest building science that, if applied, could save a homeowner 20% to 75% on heating, cooling, water and electric bills.

The HERS rater or BPI certified energy auditor training is essential to knowing how to use tools like a blower-door to test for air-flow leakage,  infra-red cameras to check for insulation levels, gas detectors to test for gas leaks, carbon monoxide detectors for hazardous venting conditions, etc. Consider attending the Affordable Comfort Institute conference this September in Atlantic City, NJ. See www.affordablecomfort.org

While some have complained that environmentally-friendly measures might stall economic growth, others, including high-level investors from Wall Street, are maintaining that the move to green is already offering many opportunities.

The fact is, per unit of electricity produced, more jobs are created for renewables than for coal, gas-fired  or nuclear plants, including all construction and fuel cycles. What’s good for the environment is what’s good for the economy, because a shift to better energy solutions would create jobs, better health, and a sustainable planet.