Creating Green Jobs in Your Hometown

There's been a lot of talk about growing the economy throughout the rust belt by making green collar jobs a priority. It makes sense to work to convert a workforce that is skilled in trades and manufacturing from jobs working on industries like automobile manufacturing that are closing plants and laying people off into jobs manufacturing wind turbines and solar panels and other growing environmental industries. The shift from blue collar work to green collar work could benefit beyond merely the company's finances. Sustainable businesses consider the triple bottom line: people, the planet, and profits.

People: Job creation and job stability without an incredibly steep learning curve or a need for additional personal spending on education or training.

Planet: Creating products and materials that can be used in alternative energy collection will preserve natural resources, reduce dependence on oil, and prevent dirty or toxic emissions from entering the air and the atmosphere.

Profits: Creating a product that is in high demand is good for business. Also transitioning existing facilities that are no longer in use into newly functioning manufacturing lines saves the time and cost of buying more land and building a new plant.

"That's fantastic" you're saying, "I want to work for the greater good and save the world, but how does converting a plant to a green manufacturing facility get me my dream green job?."

Well, there's a good chance you already have it. Here are some ways to turn your existing job into a green job.

Buy green. Are you the office manager? Make a point to order environmentally friendly supplies and encourage employees to reuse and reduce as much as possible.

Hire green. Do you have purchasing or contracting responsibilities? Specify that your vendors use sustainable practices like paperless billing and virtual meeting. You could even create a standard at your company to specify hiring and buying from companies with a demonstrated commitment to the local environment.

Think for the future. If you are designing or creating a building or product, don't just design with the present in mind. What will happen to that item after 1 year, 5 years, or 50 years? Planning so that features can be disassembled and rearranged for a different need keeps virgin resources out of the mill. If your product is natural, recyclable, or biodegradable, it's less likely to spend eternity in a landfill.

Conserve energy. Any individual in any office can save energy. Turn off lights, power down computers, and unplug appliances and equipment when not in use.

Invest in green. Talk to your firm or bank about investing your 401k in socially and environmentally responsible companies. Many of these companies are showing strong growth and return with the rise in demand for energy and resource efficient products and services.

Clean the air. If you use any chemicals like cleaning products, the air could be filled with toxins or water tainted with unhealthy substances. Choose or non-toxic natural cleaning products, paints, and shampoos whenever possible.

Reduce and recycle. Start a recycling program at your office. Identify what makes up the majority of your waste stream and use your local resources to find someone who will collect that material and recycle it.

Don't wait for economic demand to dictate the creation of environmental jobs. You can be ahead of the curve when you make your job greener and begin changing the way you do business.