Green Jobs Get Real: The Beginning of a New Era of the Green Economy
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Green Career Tip of the Week
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"Mayors know that green jobs and the new green economy are the future of
America's economic competitiveness."
Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster, U. S. Conference of Mayors Trustee and
former chair of the USCM Environment Committee
August 16, 2010
How can it possibly be September!? That was my first thought as I saved my first draft of this September 1st newsletter. Still can't believe it!
Although the Senate has thus far failed to vote on an energy/climate bill, there are other signs that green jobs are making headway. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is currently working on the first national attempt to figure out how many green jobs there are in the United States. To do this, they had to come up with an objective, measurable definition of green jobs. Although this may seem rather esoteric, this is a big step forward for the green economy. Read more below.
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Tip of the Week: Green Jobs Get Real: The Beginning of a New Era of the Green Economy
This month I've been bombarded with resources and links from various sources with clues to a new phase in the green job saga. Over the last few months, those who study, track, and report on employment numbers for states and the United States are making new strides in defining green jobs in a ways that are objective and empirically measurable. Although various states and industries have begun tackling this task over the last few years, Federal agencies have not done so up until now.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is embarking on a two-pronged research project to compare green job growth by state and region and over time. Up until now, it was difficult to compare green job studies conducted by different industry associations, think tanks, and state-level research. When comparing studies based on different definitions of green jobs, it's likely you are not comparing green apples to green apples; hence the results are difficult to interpret.
Although this may sound like a rather distant and vague advancement, it's important to remember that in a society that thrives on statistics, studies, and data, what you can define, you can measure, and what you can measure you can track over time. What can be tracked over time can be funded.
I realize there are plenty of worries yet to tackle - where are the jobs, why aren't there more of them - but let's take a moment to realized that having a definition everyone can use is a big step forward. When you know how to define something and everyone can refer to the same definition, there's less temptation to spend time debating whether the thing is real.
One more bit of evidence that green jobs are moving out of the fringes of our economy and into the mainstream conversation.
What's the Definition, You Ask?
Good question.
One interesting distinction in this definition is the focus on providing green goods and services VS using environmentally-friendly production processes.
What? Let's take these one at a time.
Goods and Services that have a positive impact on the environment and natural resource conservation includes:
- Renewable energy
- Energy efficiency
- Greenhouse gas reduction (applications that don't fall into the first two categories.
- Pollution reduction and cleanup
- Recycling and waste reduction (includes waste water)
- Agricultural and natural resources conservation
- Education, compliance, public awareness, and training
For the most part, this definition is similar to previous definitions, although I'm happy to see the inclusion of the last point. (For the record, I see a few gaps, but I'll hold those comments for another time.)
Environmental-Friendly Production Processes include two kinds of processes
In its study, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is going to survey companies with green practices. They will include:
- Production processes used to create goods and services that will be used to run the company (Example: Renewable energy used in a retail establishment....where the retail goods may or may not be green, or using hybrid vehicles to transport employees)
- Production processes that are used to create green goods and services. (Example: Collecting and recycling manufacturing waste while building a green product, redesigning packaging to eliminate the use of plastics)
Now you can see, with all of the nuances involved here (and there were other minute details I didn't have room to go into here), why we haven't had a nationwide, standardized definition of green jobs up until this point!
As it stands, the Federal Register issue used to announce this definition states that several points are as yet still untested. When they have more data they will issue a revised statement to clarify.
From my point of view, a standard, objective definition that is in motion is better than no definition at all. I'll keep you posted!
Copyright © 2010 Transition Dynamics Enterprises, Inc.
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