I just returned from Good Jobs, Green Jobs: A National Green Jobs Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was truly inspiring to hear people from a variety of sectors talking about the green economy and its potential. In the next three Green Career Tips I'll be sharing a synopsis of what I learned at the conference.

The conference was convened by a collection of unions, environmental groups, businesses, and non-profits. The group that came up with the idea for the conference is called the Blue Green Alliance, a strategic alliance between the United Steelworkers and the Sierra Club. See my blog report for more information about the conference.

Day one of the conference focused on defining the green economy. Lois Quam of Piper Jaffray, an international middle-market investment bank and institutional securities firm, called the green economy the "mother of all markets." She believes the emerging green economy is the opportunity of our lifetime.

In her words, we must "make the weather" by taking a very active role in the unfolding economy. The potential is not going to become reality on its own. We must join together, in a new way, to bring about the changes required to make the green economy flourish. (In the next Green Career Tip I'll describe the factors that are most likely to influence the expansion of the green economy.)

Green jobs are one of the key benefits of the new green economy. If you read any green blogs you know there is not an agreed upon definition of a green job. In fact, there's a bit of controversy about what is and what isn't a green job. Kathleen McGinty, Pennsylvania's Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, gave one of the clearest definitions I've ever heard.

A green job means that:

• What you make reduces greenhouse gases (your product/service)

• How you make your product or provide your service is green (your process)

• Your intention is environmentally friendly (your purpose)

Others at the conference described green jobs in the following ways:

• A green job is one that contributes, maintains, and restores the environment while avoiding actions that damage it.

• Everyone at the conference agreed that a green job must be a good job that pays well, offers good benefits, is stable, and can't be outsourced. This definition is particularly important to unions and traditionally blue collar communities that have lost manufacturing jobs over the last decade.

• A CEO from ArcelorMittal, one of the largest steel companies, commented that in the end "all jobs must be green...or they are at risk."

By focusing on environmental recovery we'll achieve economic recovery. Piper Jaffray, for instance, focuses their investments in four key areas that match their target profile.

Renewable Energy

Investments in solar and wind are beginning to show promise. Companies that have been funded are showing profits and growth. Solar companies and wind farms are hiring. Although there's quite a bit of discussion and interest in biomass, there's no consensus yet about the best way to convert bio materials into fuel. There's potential there, but the path to cash is not yet clear.

Energy Efficiency

Buildings contribute 35-79% of greenhouse gases depending on the city. Retrofitting existing buildings is an obvious way to reduce greenhouse gases while providing owners and tenants with financially beneficial outcomes. An owner's investment in their building is returned in a matter of months or a few years. Tenants win by having reduced utility bills. To complete this work a large team of green collar workers will need to be hired. The biggest gap in this industry is capital; who provides the cash to start the ball rolling? (In next week's Green Career Tip, I'll share an innovative alliance that's forming in Wisconsin to achieve this goal.)

Retooling Existing Industries

A number of existing industries show potential for being viable channels to reduce greenhouse gases. Automobiles and transportation, packaging, construction and water are examples of industries that are being modified to become green.

Carbon Capture/Return

The United States has the largest resource of coal of all the countries in the world. Although coal is a source of electricity in many states, it's known to be a very dirty source of energy. The use of coal was one of the only points of contention at the conference. Environmentalists want to eliminate the use of coal. The unions are committed to keeping coal in play because it provides jobs to many of their workers. The key to making this strategy viable is the use of a carbon capture technology. At this point, the technology to ensure a clean use of goal is not here yet. The hunt is on to solve this problem.

These are certainly not the only viable green industries. These are the industries this particular investment firm is targeting and the industries that are of interest in the Midwest. For a more complete list of green industries, see one of our recent blog posts.

Copyright © 2008 Transition Dynamics Enterprises, Inc.