GM: Integrating Sustainability into Business Creates Jobs
General Motors predicts five of the most important jobs of 2025.
Green Jobs
Green Job Placements Lag
Job placements resulting from federally funded green job training programs enacted since 2009 currently stand at around 55 percent of the target, according to a US Government Accountability Office analysis of US Department of Labor data. The figures come from a GAO paper titled Labor’s Green Jobs Efforts Highlight Challenges of Targeted ... Read more »
Policy & Enforcement Briefing: Rio+20, Japan Nuclear, Refrigerants Settlement
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is heading the US delegation for the Rio+20 summit, and President Obama will not be in attendance. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and other senior U.S. officials are also attending, according to The Hill. Japan has ordered the reactivation of two nuclear reactors at a plant ... Read more »
Jobs in Sustainability – Beyond the Fantasy
How sustainability will be the REAL driver of the new economy As expected, my column on the mistaken role of government in using taxpayer money to create “millions of green jobs” provoked some protest, but this recent item from Barron’s shows that government has a long history of failure in ... Read more »
Millions of Sustainability Jobs? In Your Dreams
A Google search for “millions of green jobs” yields 380,000 references. Every week there’s another report showing how, if the US plays its public policy cards right, we’ll soon be producing most of our energy from “clean,” renewable wind and solar sources, driving around in electric cars that will deliver ... Read more »
Seattle Wants to Be World’s Green Building IT Hub
The Seattle area’s lead economic development agency is aiming to make Puget Sound the world leader in certification for energy-efficiency building IT, ClimateWire reports for the New York Times. The Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) is hoping that by offering its stamp of approval to such software, Seattle can serve ... Read more »
Finding Talent for Today’s Green Jobs
Given companies’ continued interest in implementing sustainable practices, the opportunities for “green” jobs are greater than ever before. And though some may think these jobs require a new skillset, at their core they appeal to those with excellent math and science skills, specifically engineers. To be clear, environmental engineers certainly ... Read more »
Green Job Projections in Latest Issue of EL Insights
Total U.S. green jobs are projected to reach 892,400 in 2010 and grow to 1,388,600 in 2015, according to the latest issue of EL Insights, which focuses on green jobs. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.2% during this time period. This issue looks at major trends as ... Read more »
Calyxo, SolarWorld Top Solar Module Scorecard
Although known for urging electronics companies to eliminate toxic chemicals in products and increase their end-of-life responsibility, the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) has set its sight on the solar industry and the impact it has on the environment, reports Fast Company. SVTC has released its first Solar Company scorecard that ... Read more »
New Clean Jobs, Energy Independence Hinge on National RES Passage
The explosive growth of the U.S. wind power industry ranks among the most important energy developments of this young century. From a nascent industry just a decade ago, it has made the U.S. the global leader in wind capacity. More than 20,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs are tied directly to wind ... Read more »
Senate Wants Clean Energy, Solar in Jobs Bill
With comprehensive climate legislation on hold, Senate Environment and Public Works subcommittee will focus on clean energy job opportunities at an upcoming hearing as President Obama calls on Congress to pass a jobs bill that puts more Americans to work, reports the New York Times. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman ... Read more »
‘Green’ Building Sector to Contribute $554B to GDP from 2009-13
While the green building industry added $173 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product from 2000-08, that’s just the beginning. From 2009 to 2013, that amount will more than triple to $554 billion, according to a new report from the U.S. Green Building Council and Booz Allen Hamilton. The return ... Read more »