Green Career Central Blog

Green Career Tip: State of Green Business Report 2012 – 5 Reasons Reading This Report Helps Your Green Career

Resource: State of Green Business Report 2012

Why This Resource Caught My Eye

This report has caught my eye for five years running. It’s one of the most important reports I read each year to grasp what’s really happening in the green economy.  Published by GreenBiz.com based on last year’s 2000 blog posts, interviews, reports, and event, it’s a great “on the ground” perspective that’s invaluable to anyone who is interested in the green economy and sustainability efforts in the business world.

5 Ways You’ll Benefit from Reading This Report

1) Uncover Clues to Possible Careers in Current Trends – Get a sense of industries that are growing and how various roles within these industries are evolving.

  
2) Deepen Your Understanding of Key Sustainability Issues – Gain insights about how key issues are shaped by real-life business circumstances, today’s political and economy climate, and, often, conflicting factors.

3) Identify Key Players in Your Target Industry – Take what you learn in this report about success stories, investment recipients, topic matter experts, and relevant associations to jump start your research about your target industry.

4) Spot Opportunities in What’s Not Working – Refine your sense of the green/sustainable opportunities that are ripe for innovation, transformation, and breaking from status quo.  Do you have the skills, knowledge, or passion to step in to contribute?

5) Boost Your Credibility – Grasp the complexity of these sustainability issues and you’ll out shine your competition in interviews and increase your confidence that you can hold your own in discussions with your colleagues.

Strategies for Reading the State of Green Business 2012 Report

I know it can feel a bit imposing to think about sitting down to read a full report like this. So here are a few suggestions to make it a bit easier to explore this report. 

• Scan the list of top ten trends in the Table of Contents on page 2 to identify the trends that are most relevant to you.

• Tackle one trend a day—at 1-3 well-written pages a piece, you’ll find it’s easy to get a grasp of the issues quite quickly.

• Review the GreenBiz Index Summary table (pages 25-26) to uncover whether green companies are “swimming, treading water, and sinking” on the 20 measures of environmental performance.

• Read about each index that sparks your interests. Again, these descriptions tend to be 1-3 pages long.

• Thumb through the report to read the insets with special essays from topic matter experts and other GreenBiz.com reports that may be of interest to you.

Feeling Boxed In By Your Career? There's a Way Out

When I was in my 20’s I experienced two wake up calls that continue to influence the way I see careers – mine own career and the careers of those I support. I’ll share one of these wake up calls today…and will share the other in the months to come.

Scenario #1: My Father’s Career Story

While I was in college and graduate school studying the psychology of the workplace (Industrial/Organizational Psychology), I realized that my Dad was struggling with his career. He had been selected to head up an internal audit of the research organization where he’d spent his entire career, first as a scientific technical expert and later as the head of a division and a member of the Director’s Office. My father was known for his way of thinking – he could take a lot of information and synthesize it in a way that made sense in an elegant, streamlined way. This role seemed like a perfect fit for him.

When he and his team delivered their observations and conclusions about the state of the organization and its future, management didn’t like what they heard. Basically they shot the messenger and he was sidelined for the rest of his career, pushed off into a corner in a role that didn’t have much clout, required a lot of travel, and kept him out of the way.

He felt stifled. After he died I learned from my Mom that he dreamed of going back to school to get a degree in Psychology. He wanted to understand human behavior in a deeper way. Unfortunately his logical, scientific mind and his role as the family’s primary breadwinner kept him from acting on his desire.

Instead he did the job he was given to the best of his ability, as was his way. But he wasn’t challenged by what he did, which is a shame for a man who had so much to give the organization that he believed in so strongly. I think the hardest part for him was watching as the organization stepped into the landmines he had forecast years before. He felt stuck.

Click here to continue reading the rest of this post.

Green Career Tip: Where to Get a Green Job - Infographic

Resource: Where to Get a Green Job Infographic

Why This Resource Caught My Eye
When I first saw this resource I loved the visual nature of this infographic and its ability to share a great deal of information in a very concise manner.

What to Look for
• Industries with the highest green job growth
• Green industries that hire the most people
• Clean industries that have a manufacturing focus
• Metro areas with the number of green/clean jobs and the greatest growth in green/clean jobs

Caveats to Keep in Mind
• Data collection dates – not all data is from 2011. Some graphics are based on data over a ten year period ending in 2007. Others show statistics are based on number up through 2010. Annual employment statistics generally have an inherent time delay. As you scan the infographic, incorporate the dates into the conclusions you make about the data.

• Definition of green jobs/careers – Any time you evaluate green economy statistics, you must make sure you understand how the researchers defined green jobs. It’s likely you’ll need to go to the original sources to gain a full understanding of their definition.

Green Career Tip: For the Last 18 Months I Have Been Struggling

I could feel there was something deeper that I was meant to do. Something that would have a bigger impact on the issues that I care so deeply about - the planet, the natural world, sustainability, helping people use their professional lives to make an impact on their world.

I'd get glimmers of "The Subject." I'd sense ways I would incorporate this new level of my work into what I do within Green Career Central. I played with several ideas to the point that I thought I had "it" all figured out. I kept sensing I would be able to launch my new idea next week or next month.
But nothing stood still long enough to grow roots.
I kept changing. The world around me kept shifting.
My ideas kept evolving.

The way I'd always gone about identifying and developing my work was not working. In the past I've always gotten a new idea and then worked with it privately to craft the final product - a coaching program, a book, a new site. None of the strategies I've used in the past are working this time around.

It was time to take an entirely new approach.

To continue reading this post click here. 

$4 Billion Committed to Improving Energy Efficiency in Buildings by 20%

President Obama announced $4 billion in public and private funds will be used to upgrade the energy efficiency of public and commercial buildings over the next two years.  Two billion of the four billion will come from the private sector to improve energy efficiency 20% by 2020 in 1.6 billion square feet of office and other building spaces.

The commitment is expected to create thousands of jobs in the green construction and building sectors. 

For more information go here. 

 

Sustainability Careers: Five Career Tips from GreenBiz Sustainability Salary Survey

GreenBiz.com just published their second annual “GreenBiz Salary Survey 2011.” If you are interested in working in sustainability, I highly recommend you take a few minutes to read this report  and an accompanying blog post entitled 5 Myths About Sustainability Executives  Both having interesting tidbits of information for sustainability job seekers.

I thought I’d share a few of the highlights that I found for those considering (or working in) sustainability.

1) Sustainability is not a one-size-fits-all approach to business. A company’s actions and strategies will depend on its own internal culture, the realities of its industry, the competition, and how extensive the supply chain is. (See page 6 to read quotes from executives about how sustainability is evolving in their organizations.)

Career Tip: If you want to work in a particular industry or company, invest time in researching how sustainability is unfolding within that environment.
 
2) The term “Sustainability” seems to be the winner…for now! The trend over the last three years has been a shift from talking about environmental, corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmental, health, and safety (EHS) to talking about sustainability. These other terms are disappearing, but they appear to be categorized under sustainability more and more. Time will tell if this trend continues.

Career Tip: As you search for or ask about sustainability positions within companies, it’s more likely than ever before that the job titles within the company will include the word “sustainability.”

3) More and more, sustainability is part of the corporate agenda—either sustainability is “already a permanent fixture and core strategic consideration” or it’s “on the agenda permanently, but not core.” This is especially true for consumer goods, automotive, and basic materials industries. (See page 15 for the specific data.)

Career Tip: When you have conversations with your contacts in companies, ask them where they see sustainability falling in the company’s agenda.” Probably not the right time to join a company if sustainability is not a top tier agenda item or only temporarily on the agenda. One way to get a sense of priority is to find out how many levels of the organization stand between the key sustainability leader and the CEO of the company.

4) The jury is still out when it comes to where sustainability positions reside within organizations. Take a look at this list (see page 10 for more details)! Sustainability function may report to:

• Public affairs

• Operations

• Sales & marketing

• Legal

• Human resources

• Environmental, Health, Safety

• Product development

• Strategy

Career Tip: When you begin networking into your target companies, do some due diligence to discover where sustainability resides. Knowing this, or asking questions to discover this information, will increase your credibility considerably.

5) Dedicated sustainability teams are growing in size, in some companies. Based on the data reported on page 14, teams of 1-5 people are decreasing, but teams of 6-10 are increasing. In addition there are a considerable number of teams with more than 20 people.

Career Tip: It’s important to realize that much of the actual work on sustainability happens in departments throughout the company. To get results, the sustainability executive heading up the team must have influence within the organization.
One final statistic to share, job satisfaction for respondents continues to be high. For those working in large companies, 85% of the respondents are satisfied or very satisfied. For those in smaller companies, the satisfaction is still quite high at 79%.
 
If you want to learn about salary trends in the world of sustainability, take a look at the second part of the report – starting on page 16 through the end of the document.

Green Career Tip: Steve Jobs: Let His Vision Be Your Inspiration

As one of my Facebook friends noted this evening, Steve Jobs “is amazingly quotable.”
I’m sure you’ve noticed it too. Social media networks are awash with quotes and clips sharing Steve Jobs’ philosophy of life and contribution.
 
These three quotes are excerpts from a powerful commencement speech Steve Jobs made at Stanford University in 2005, one year after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. These thoughts are just as powerful today as they were then. Every time I read this speech I’m inspired to continue doing the work I do.

My hope is that you’ll read these words both as a tribute to Steve Jobs for his passion, contribution, and spirit and as a catalyst for your own life’s journey.
 
“...you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life...”

“…Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle…” 

Click here to continue reading this article.

Green Career Tip: Investing in Conferences: 6 Ways to Get the Biggest Bang for Your Buck

Attending conferences is a powerful way to engage in your chosen industry. When professionals come together to discuss key issues, share emerging trends, and best practices, every attendee has an opportunity to stretch, grow, and deepen their own professional standing. This is true whether you are new to the industry or been engaged for years.
 
That’s the up side.

As you no doubt know, the price of admission is often the down side of using conferences to learn about your industry. With the registration fee, the travel costs, and food and lodging expenses, you’ve got to have a budget for such a strategy!

Tips for Cutting Costs
No matter where you are in your career, it always helps to keep several cost cutting strategies in mind.

• Housing options – Plan to share a hotel room with someone you know or see if the conference is arranging roommates. Look for a less expensive hotel in the area or explore options like AirBnB or online travel sites that allow you to pay less for open rooms close to the time of your conference.

• Travel scenarios – Play around with different travel options. Could you drive? Carpool? Can you reserve your flight early to capitalize on low pricing?

• Volunteer opportunities – Does the organization provide scholarships or waive fees for people who volunteer their time during the conference? It’s always worth asking this question.

• Virtual option - Review the website to determine whether the conference will stream one or more sessions online. More and more conferences are offering this option or they are moving to a virtual conference format for everyone.

Click here to continue reading the rest of this article

Green Career Tip: Are You Putting Your Credibility at Risk?

One of the best ways to “get a job” has always been to demonstrate your expertise. These days it’s not enough anymore to have deep knowledge of just your own industry. You must be able to see, discuss, and extrapolate how various issues impact your industry and vice versa.
 
Imagine you are in an interview, a conversation with an influential contact or a team meeting with your colleagues. The conversation suddenly shifts to the extreme weather that’s hit the region lately and whether it’s related to climate change. You are asked a specific question that requires a specific answer….

• Do you know how to respond?

• Is your response based on your opinion? On the party line? Or on science?

• What kind of impression will you leave as a result of your answer?

Will your response…

• Win you the job?

• Earn you the respect of your contact?

• Build your credibility within your team?

It’s for these reasons that I’m a firm believer that we must all have a broad science-based understanding of environmental issues and the tenets of sustainability.

Click here to read the rest of this article. 

Follow the Clean Tech Green Money: DOE Makes $90 Million Loan Guarantee, Regen Energy Receives $5.5 Million, Getaround Raises $3.4 Million

The Department of Energy has finalized a loan guarantee of $90.6 million to Cogentrix of Alamosa, CO.  Cogentrix will build a 30 megawatt high concentration photo voltaic plant near the southern Colorado town.  When finished the plant will produce enough electricity to power 6,500 homes. 

Regen Energy, an innovative software company has raised $5.5 million from venture capitalists.  By using their software, companies can reduce their power costs of such items as lighting and air conditioning.  Based in Toronto, Regen will use some of the funding to expand into the U.S. with an office in San Diego, CA planned.

Getaround, a neighbor-to-neighbor car sharing agency has raised $3.4 million from venture capitalists.  Owners of cars rent their vehicle to members of the network by the minute or hour. Other network car rental agencies, such as Zipcar, own their fleet of vehicles from which members choose.