Green-collar worker

A green-collar worker is a worker who is employed in the environmental sectors of the economy, or in the agricultural sector. Environmental green-collar workers satisfy the demand for green development. Generally, they implement environmentally conscious design, policy, and technology to improve conservation and sustainability. Formal environmental regulations as well as informal social expectations are pushing many firms to seek professionals with expertise with environmental, energy efficiency, and clean renewable energy issues. They often seek to make their output more sustainable, and thus more favorable to public opinion, governmental regulation, and the Earth's ecology.

Green collar workers include professionals such as conservation movement workers, environmental consultants, environmental or biological systems engineers, green building architects, holistic passive solar building designers, solar energy and wind energy engineers, nuclear engineers , green vehicle engineers, organic farmers, environmental lawyers, ecology educators, and ecotechnology workers. They also include vocational or trade-level employment: electricians who install solar panels, plumbers who install solar water heaters, and construction workers who build energy-efficient green buildings, wind power farms, or other clean, renewable, sustainable future energy development workers could all be considered green jobs.

Notable Uses

1. Of or pertaining to both employment and the environment or environmentalism.
   • 1976, Patrick Heffernan, “Jobs for the Environment — The Coming Green Collar Revolution”, in Jobs and Prices in the West Coast Region: Hearing before the Joint Economic Committee, Congress of the United States, Ninety-Fourth Congress, Second Session, U.S. Government Printing Office, page 134,
   • 1997, Geoff Mulgan, Perri 6 [sic] et al., The British Spring: A Manifesto for the Election After Next, Demos, page 26,

     The United States, Canada, Germany, and Denmark are all generating hundreds of thousands of new 'green collar' jobs, especially for young people, achieving remarkable reductions in energy, water, waste disposal and materials costs.

   • 2001, Diane Warburton and Ian Christie, From Here to Sustainability: Politics in the Real World, Earthscan, page 75,

     Studies for the UK suggest that the more than 100,000 existing 'green collar' workers in environmental occupations could be joined by many thousands more, both in the private sector and in the 'social economy' of community enterprises.

   • 2007, U.S. Green Jobs Act
   • 2007, U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act - Title X: "Green Jobs - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Program" (signed into law 2007-12-19)
   • 2008, during the U.S. Presidential Campaign, both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama specifically promised more green collar jobs, and green vehicle bonds. Other candidates' energy policy of the United States recommendations all included increased green development, which should accelerate the creation of millions of new green jobs.
   • 2008, January 22 U.S. Federal Reserve Board unprecedented mid-term 3/4% interest rate cut to soon be followed by other economic stimulus to avoid recession and support new job development in green building construction, remodeling/weatherization, transportation (green vehicles) and green manufacturing industry sectors. Widespread bipartisan, Administration and Congressional support for immediate economic stimulus funding, with a bias toward increasing sustainable green-collar jobs.
2. Of or pertaining to rural, agricultural employment; often contrasted with urban blue-collar employment.
   • 1983, U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Forestry, Water Resources, and Environment, Cultivation of Marihuana in National Forests: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Forestry, Water Resources, and Environment, […], U.S. Government Printing Office, page 32,

     American [marijuana] growers, who have more recently become known as America's "green-collar" workers because of the bright green color of their product, […]

   • 2004, Martin Heidenreich et al., Regional Innovation Systems: The Role of Governances in a Globalized World, Routledge UK, page 394,

     Qualification structure of the workforce (%)	1980	1997
     Blue-collar	29.7	33.5
     Green-collar	21.2	10.0
     White-collar	25.0	31.7
     Grey-collar	24.0	24.8

Center for American Progress

A report from the Center for American Progress concludes that a $100 billion federal investment in clean energy technologies over 2009 and 2010 would yield 2 million new U.S. jobs, cutting the unemployment rate by 1.3% and put the nation on a path toward a low-carbon economy. The report, prepared by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, proposes $50 billion in tax credits for energy efficiency retrofits and renewable energy systems; $46 billion in direct government spending for public building retrofits, mass transit, freight rail, smart electrical grid systems, and renewable energy systems; and $4 billion for federal loan guarantees to help finance building retrofits and renewable energy projects. The Center believes that clean energy investments would yield about 300,000 more jobs than if the same funds were distributed among U.S. taxpayers. The clean energy investments would also have the added benefits of lower home energy bills and reduced prices for non-renewable energy sources, due to the reduced consumption of those energy sources.

Worldwatch Institute/ UNEP

Global efforts to tackle climate change could result in millions of "green" jobs over the coming decades, according to a 2008 study prepared by the Worldwatch Institute with funding from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The study found that the global market for environmental products and services is projected to double from $1.37 trillion per year at present to $2.74 trillion by 2020, with half of that market in efficient energy use. In terms of energy supply, the renewable energy industry will be particularly important. Some 2.3 million people have found renewable energy jobs in recent years, and projected investments of $630 billion by 2030 would translate into at least 20 million additional jobs.

U.S. Conference of Mayors

Also in 2008, the U.S. Conference of Mayors released a report that finds the U.S. economy currently generates more then 750,000 green jobs, while over the next 30 years, an emphasis on clean energy could result in a five-fold increase, to more than 4.2 million jobs. Engineering, legal, research, and consulting jobs currently dominate the green jobs in the United States and could grow by 1.4 million by 2038, while renewable electricity production will create 1.23 million jobs, alternative transportation fuels will add 1.5 million jobs, and building retrofits will create another 81,000 jobs. The report notes that most of today's jobs are in metropolitan areas, led by New York City; Washington, D.C.; Houston, Texas; and Los Angeles, California.

Green School

Green-collar workers can be formed in green schools .

See also

• Cornell University Global Labour Institute
• Earth Share
• Green For All
• Stern Review
• Worldwatch Institute

Other color collar workers

• Blue-collar workers
• White-collar workers
• Pink-collar workers
• Gold-collar workers
• Grey-collar workers

External links

• Green Jobs Initiative (UNEP/ILO/IOE/ITUC):
  • Landmark New Report Says Emerging Green Economy Could Create Tens of Millions of New "Green Jobs" (UNEP).
• Green for All
• Columbia Journalism Review
• Public Radio episode
• Huffington Post
• OnEarth Magazine » Looking for a Few Good Men
• Green Collar Jobs Campaign
• Common Sense
• Green Collar Economy
• GreenJobs, "100% Green" Job Board
• "On the media"'s Word Watch
• Jobs in Green Technology Sector, LA (Economic Roundtable).