Green Collar Jobs

There has been a huge push towards green collar jobs-- with not so much coming out of it. Fundamentally, green collar jobs are jobs carried out by skilled labor that yield more environmentally friendly results. What this implies is not new jobs but a new way of doing old jobs. New technology that performs the same services while decreasing the life cycle environmental impacts.

This creates a huge opportunity for manufacturers who are creating green products. For example, HVAC systems that use less energy to heat and cool a building, or renewable energy or stormwater technologies. 

We at IERE have been developing education systems for green collar education that helps make the decisions to go to green technologies an easier one. We call the program WEBS for Water, Energy, Biology, Sustainability. The program teaches employees about the environmental impacts of the decisions they make every day, and empowers them to make better ones immediately. You might want to use it for your own employees, too. It will help reduce your own environmental costs.

If you are interested in learning more about WEBS, please contact us at staff@iere.org.

WEBS Brochure 

WEBS Training

Environmental marketing

Everywhere you look companies are trying to make green claims-- new labels are popping up all over the place and new rules are being made by government about what is acceptable in market claims. Some of the claims in the marketplace are little better than greenwashing. 

But the gold standard for environmental marketing claims is still a life cycle assessment. A properly done LCA is comprehensive, covering the entire life cycle of a product or service and all the potential environmental impacts. It has been critically reviewed by competent parties and the claims it makes are verifiable and specific to the study that was done.

You can use your LCA to develop an ecolabel called an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). IERE's Earthsure Program can help you get there.

Where Business Fits

We think that business is the key-- only business has the resources to fix our planet's woes.

This means that all businesses should become sustainability businesses: ones whose products and services make the world a more sustainable place. This means that business can do well by doing good. But it means that you have to re-think everything in the business: Product development, marketing, accounting, production and delivery all need to be focused on making decisions that extend the boundaries of the product system to society as a whole?

Sounds complicated? Just remember to use the golden rule in your business life.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you-- your employees, your customers, society as a whole.

The companies who have figured this out are the ones that will be successful in the 21st century.