By Margot C. Lester
Staff Writer
While it may seem like all the news about employment is bad – and a lot of it is – there’s one sector that’s poised for growth: green-collar jobs.
From global behemoths like Wal-Mart to small enterprises like Pittsboro’s Piedmont Biofuels, businesses are going green and they need employees at all levels and positions to help them do it. Then there’s the massive plan to create or save 2.5 million jobs in green businesses announced by President-elect Barack Obama late last month.
That’s good news for the Triangle, which is fertile ground for green-collar job growth thanks to the area’s strong entrepreneurial environment, easy access to the latest technology and research, and massive amounts of hog waste (more on that last bit in a minute). A report from the Center for American Progress (CAP), a Washington D.C. think tank and advocacy group, estimates that the state could net 62,015 jobs by nurturing green-collar businesses and projects.
Defining ‘green-collar’
What exactly is a green-collar job?
“In a narrower sense, it’s a position that directly relates to sustainability or the environment, like environmental engineering, alternative energy management, environmentally-sensitive design, etc,†says John Challenger, CEO of Chicago-based global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. “In its broadest sense, it’s any position working on a project with a green mission. So if you’re an accountant working on a construction project that’s using sustainable building practices, you’re in a green-collar job.â€
The Employment Security Commission of North Carolina has a similarly loose definition: “We define these jobs as positions like those found in bio-tech and even in some agriculture-related fields, like Christmas tree farming — good for the economy, good for the environment and a product needed year-in and year-out,†explains Andrew James, the ESC’s director of public information.
Identifying opportunities
Companies in the green business, like Piedmont Biofuels or Durham’s Cree (which makes microchips for LED lights), are likely to see the most job growth. Cary software giant SAS will be increasing green hires now that it’s got a five-acre solar farm at its headquarters.
And about that hog waste. A recent Duke University study shows North Carolina’s much-maligned pork industry could have a green lining. Our plethora of hog farms makes us a hotbed for research and development on super-soil waste-treatment technology. The developing technology eliminates discharge of animal waste to surface or ground water and reduces significantly the air and water contamination.
Still, positions at strictly green companies won’t be enough to overcome the current job loss.
“However, the focus on green across industries will create jobs for people with all skills, and that’s where real growth comes from,†Challenger says.
Another source of growth: infrastructure programs. According to the CAP, North Carolina’s share of the proposed national green economic-recovery program would be $2.9 billion. That kind of funding would not only produce safer and greener bridges and roads and public buildings, it would create lots of jobs.
Making it happen
“The new president-elect and Congress have to deal with the energy situation, and there are already proposals on Capitol Hill to infuse capital into the marketplace on alternative energies, so that’ll be the trend for the next four years,†predicts Bradly Broadwell, director of the Orange County Economic Development Commission. “We have to see how our local assets jibe with federal spending trends, which will turn into state trends. That means taking advantage of the assets we already have in hand.â€
Among those assets are a highly educated and progressive workforce and local research universities.
“The Triangle has plenty of people with imagination, and it has a tendency to transform its landscape,†says Lyle Estill, founder and CEO of Piedmont Biofuels.
It wasn’t that long ago, remember, that we were a mainly agricultural region that just happened to be home to some great universities. When they tore down that still to build then-Burroughs Wellcome out in RTP, it signaled more than a symbolic shift in the local economy.
How much the green-collar revolution will impact our local economy remains to be seen. But one thing’s for sure, it will.
Green sector salaries by job title
Job title entry salary median salary
Environmental engineers $50,702 $71,800
Environmental scientists $34,000 $55,000
Urban/regional planners $36,000 $57,560
Conservation scientists $33,000 $56,515
Foresters $32,000 $51,938
Environmental lawyers $40,000-$71,000 $103,130
Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. with data provided by Monster.com and Payscale.com
Leading Resources for Green Job Leads
www.ecoemploy.com
www.ecojobs.com
www.environmentalcareer.com
www.greenbiz.com
www.greenjobs.com
www.monster.com
www.sustainablebusiness.com
Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Editor’s Note: This story is the third in a series about jobs and the local economy. If the recession has affected you or your business, or you’re a business considering layoffs, please drop a line to margot@carrborocitizen.com. We might tell your story in an upcoming installment.
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