Green Career Central Blog

Green Career Tip: GBO Hawai'i Board Game - Like Monopoly with a Sustainability Twist

GBO Hawai'i is the first sustainability themed board game for a mass market audience. Through private sector investment in sustainable businesses, (a field known as impact investing), players are able to help the state of Hawai'i meet its sustainability goals, reducing fossil fuel consumption, advancing the local and organic food movement, and reducing waste generation.

Think monopoly with a sustainability twist!

Game Developer

My colleague, Scott Cooney leveraged his experience as a 3-time eco-entrepreneur and author of Build a Green Small Business: Pro?table Ways to Become an Ecopreneur to develop this sustainability board game.  Scott is a sustainability Professor at the University of Hawai'i's Shidler College of Business where he teaches UH's first sustainability curriculum for the MBA program.  Scott conducts economic development workshops for municipalities and is the Principal of the GBO Group, a sustainability strategy advisory and business development firm based in Honolulu, Hawai'i.

How the Game Works

Think of yourself as an impact investor looking for the best sustainable businesses to invest in to help Hawaii make the transition from a carbon-based economy to one that is sustainable, clean, and self-sufficient.

You'll be evaluating businesses such as organic farms, geothermal plants, green building companies, solar installers, restaurants, bike shops and more to determine your best investments. Using “resource” cards you'll build out the human resources and business assets you have to get your business investments off the ground.

Along your way around the game board, you'll come across a variety of factors that will make or break your business investments! Think lobbyists, policy changes, current events, permitting issues, and more.

The player with the best Triple Bottom Line score --based on the number of green jobs, the waste eliminated, and the financial profit created by their businesses -- wins the game!

The game is beautifully designed and produced as green as possible given that it's a custom product. You can read more about the back story on the manufacturing choices in the FAQs

Although there are a lot of moving parts to keep track of at first, the game is easy to grasp and moves quickly. You'll have fun and engage your mind at the same time! Enjoy the game with 2-4 players who are 13 years of age or older. Learn how to play by watching the GBO Hawai'i videos

Lesson Plans

Are you a green/sustainability educator – in your professional role or as a volunteer?

Then consider using GBO Hawai'i as a fun way to give your students/employees/participants an interactive way to invest in sustainable ventures while dealing with evolving policies, environmental factors, current events, and lobbyists.
Free downloadable lesson plans are available at GBO Hawaii.com

Tournaments!

The GBO Hawai'i game also lends itself nicely to a tournament format. Imagine gathering colleagues, friends, and students together to play simultaneously!

• Think fundraiser for your non-profit or student group!

• Think team builder for your company or organization.

• Think fun gathering for Earth Day.

The possibilities are endless….what ideas come to mind for you?
Explore the tournament possibilities to explore what this event might look like for you.
Fine print: As one of Scott Cooney's colleagues, I have chosen to promote his game.
As with every green resource I review in this newsletter, I feel strongly that this game has value to you! 

Green Career Tip: Intrigued by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or Sustainability? This Resource is for You!

Responsible Business Summit USA

From the conference Website: “How to make corporate responsibility a core aspect of organizational culture, collaborate with key stakeholders and use CSR to enhance reputation and gain competitive edge.”
Although this conference is intended for managers and executives from major corporations, you can still gain a number of insights about the field by reviewing the conference site and downloading several fre.e resources they provide. Scroll down for descriptions of resources available on the website and relevant access information.

When: June 28-29th 2012
Where: New York, New York

Agenda and Speakers:

Review the site to learn as much as you can about the areas of CSR and sustainability as you can. In addition to getting a sense of the topic area, look for key names, references to books they’ve written, companies they work for, and blogs they contribute to. Use these initial bits of information as clues to deepen your knowledge of the field.

• Responsible Business Summit USA Agenda

• Responsible Business Summit Speaker List

Briefing, Paper, and Brochure

As I reviewed the conference website I came across links to download several interesting documents. You will need to provide your contact information and your role to obtain these fre.e reports, but I think it’s worth doing to receive the up-to-date information that could be very helpful to you in preparing to work in this field or deepening your knowledge of the field.

• CSR Briefing : This briefing contains a series of articles and information about the latest CSR challenges and effective profitable solutions. In this document you’ll find examples, case studies, observations from the field, trends, and interviews.

• At the VERY end of this briefing, you’ll find a link to a Discussion Paper that could be very valuable to you if you intend to work in Sustainability within a corporate or organizational setting. The paper entitled Objection Handling: A Professional’s Guide to Overcoming Objections to Sustainability Adoption and Implementation describes the Top Ten Objections to Sustainability and tips for handling these objections. This paper is provided by the Toronto Sustainability Speaker Series.

 

Green Career Tip: Who Would You Hire?

I’ve always searched for a way to show people how having a clear picture of their green career direction helps them find their green job.

Recently while facilitating a workshop for green job seekers, I had the opportunity to talk with two participants, one after the other. The difference between the two scenarios definitely made an impression on me. Take a look at a brief description of these two interactions.

Participant #1:

Within a few words I could see this participant was struggling. Although she had a general sense of the green sector she wanted to work in, she didn’t have clear sense of her options. She wasn’t sure which of her varied skills she should highlight when talking about her target green career, so she talked about as many skills as she could. It was clear from our 3 minute conversation that she didn’t have a crisp, compelling way to talk about herself or her green career goal. Furthermore, I was struggling to grasp what she was talking about, so I have no doubt that her network was having a difficult time providing her with viable referrals. This participant made all the others in the workshop a bit uncomfortable due to her wide-ranging, unfocused nature of her description of what she wanted. No one quite knew how to offer constructive or useful ideas, referrals or resources.

Participant #2:

In the space of one sentence I could tell this participant was on top of things! In a concise initial introductory sentence she was able to share who she was, what she was hoping to do, and how her skills were relevant. As she voiced her question, as she would in her networking conversations, I was able to follow her line of thinking and understand how her question tied in with her target career direction. This is the scenario that networking contacts can respond to with clear, concise referrals. In fact, before we moved to the next participant, this person had received a solid lead from the group. This participant attracted the attention of everyone in the room!

Who Would You Hire?

Given what you know about these two individuals, which one would you hire?

• Would you hire Participant #1 who is confused, unfocused, and vague about your future goal?
• OR

• Would you hire Participant #2 who is clear, focused, and precise about her desired direction?

And the Answer Is….Participant #2!
Hands down.
If you’ve ever been on the hiring side of an interview you know how much is communicated through an interviewee’s voice, body language, confidence, stories, and clarity. This is even more true now than ever given the state of the economy. If you aren’t standing out during your interview, you can be sure there will be someone else who does!

When you are fired up about your vision and you can articulate your vision clearly, concisely, and compellingly, you magnetize attention from every corner of your life – from your friends, networking contacts, industry experts, mentors, and hiring managers.

Although it might feel like you don’t have time to clarify your vision, the time you devote to the process of clarifying your vision will transform you. You’ll feel your transformation take hold as you move from being Participant #1 to Participant #2. As you make this shift, you’ll begin to see changes in the results you are getting in your networking and interviewing. 

Green Career Tip: Your Green Career Focus: Don't Make These 5 Mistakes

In the five years I’ve been helping people discover their green career direction, I’ve observed that most people look outside themselves to find answers.

Generally they take one (or more) of the five actions listed. Although each of these actions provides insights about possible career directions, I’ve also seen that these actions don’t always provide the clarity people need to move forward with their quest to transition to a greener, more sustainable career. I’ve noted a few of the questions that often come to my mind as I talk with people about their efforts to identify their green career focus using these actions.

Follow Green Trends – When you hear that solar or wind, for instance, are the latest trends, it’s easy to want to jump on board to contribute to the cutting edge advancements in these fields.

…But are your skills and experience relevant in these hot industries? 
How much do you really know about the industry you are targeting?

Talk to People You Know – People often think the best way to discover their green career direction is to interview people who are already in green careers. The hope is they will talk to someone who has a green job that’s interesting to them.

…But do you have the same background and interests your contacts do?
Are you really a good fit for the professions they find so interesting?
What aren’t you learning about by focusing on what people around you are doing?

Scan Job Boards – People also scan job boards and company job listings to identify green jobs that might work for them. Granted any job board is a great way to review a large collection of positions. You can read a lot of job descriptions in this way. , but it’s often difficult to isolate green jobs on most job boards.

…But do you know the key words to you to find green positions?
Are you aware that only about 25%-30% of positions are actually posted online?
Are you finding all the positions that have a green component with your current search methods?

Follow the Money – Understanding which industries and companies are getting funding is a very important aspect of understanding the growth and development of the green economy. Unfortunately when venture capitalists first invest in a company or technology, the company’s hiring needs are fairly limited and quite targeted. 

…But are these companies in a good position to hire someone with your skills?
If not, when will they be ready to hire you?

Target Training Opportunities – You hear about a new training program, perhaps one that’s funded through grants or available through a local organization at a reduced cost. You read the description. It sounds interesting, so you go for it. You aren’t sure what you are going to do with the training, but you take the plunge because the certification sounds good.

…But is completing this training program really enough to make you employable?
Do you know the kinds of jobs that you’ll be qualified to do at the end of the training?
Will you enjoy those positions?
Can you imagine doing this work?

Unfortunately, you aren’t likely to reach a clear conclusion about your green career focus by looking outside yourself.

The Key to Clarity

Understanding how your strengths dovetail with what’s happening in your local region and your target green industry is essential.

If you don’t know the value you bring to a company or an industry or if you can’t articulate your value, then it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be able to pinpoint the kind of green career where you are most likely to make the difference you want to make.

By starting with what’s true for you in terms of your skills, interests, experience, and passions you’ll know where to focus your green career exploration.

Green Career Tip: Does Your Green Career Direction Need Your Attention?

Everywhere we turn there’s more evidence that the Earth’s natural resources and ecosystems are being taxed by the way many of the world’s cultures live, work, play and travel.

There’s also an abundance of evidence that businesses, communities, and individuals have the power and technology to make more sustainable choices in the quest to have a more positive impact on the planet.

Although it was once thought that these choices would be detrimental and costly, most organizations are discovering that what is sustainable is also cost effective and efficient. In addition, companies are finding their brands are benefiting and their employees are more engaged than ever before.

You want to be a part of this transition to a cleaner, more sustainable world. You want to find the best way to use your talents and expertise to make a difference.

The Sweet Spot

To have the impact you want to have, you must identify the sweet spot where your skills and interests overlap with the green, sustainable economy and with your local economy.

Without a clear career focus, you’ll be spinning in every part of your transition.

• Figuring out how to focus your exploration of your options within the green economy

• Identifying the best training to prepare you for your new work

• Describing your goal to your network contacts and hiring managers

• Presenting yourself as a credible, highly desirable candidate.

Finding your focus is the most important step you can take as you try to choreograph your transition to a greener, more sustainable career. Clarifying your focus brings you a new level of clarity, drive and confidence that attracts networking contacts, professional opportunities, and hiring managers. In addition you’ll feel more motivated, energetic, and ready to do what it takes to make your transition.

Signs Your Green Career Focus Need Your Attention

If you are experiencing any of these scenarios, investing time in identifying your focus will be well worth your investment.

1. If you are asking others what you should do with your background or in a particular industry, you are still searching for your direction.

2. If you talk about your career focus and no one seems to know what you want to do, you aren’t there yet.

3. You think you know what you want to do, but you are still finding it hard to stay focused…or you are spending a lot of time second guessing yourself…and as a result you aren’t making much progress.

4. If you’ve identified the “hottest” or “coolest” field in your region, you may be limiting yourself because your vision is only one-dimensional.

 
5. You have a string of ideas and you can’t make a decision. I have good news…your green niche may be a combination of your ideas…or your ideas are examples of a higher level vision.

To achieve the most benefit, take the time to define your focus before you invest in training or attempt to ramp up your job search.

Green Career Tip: Eight Strategies to Make the Most of Earth Day Events

Earth Day is a wonderful opportunity to connect with the green movement in your area. Use the strategies in this article to jumpstart your green career exploration.

Find Local Green Events
Earth Day itself is Sunday, April 22nd. Events may be scheduled throughout the weeks surrounding Earth Day.
Are you hearing about any Earth Day events? Watch your local newspapers, listen to your local radio station, read announcements from local email lists.

If you haven't heard of any events, start asking around. Call your local Sierra Club chapter, local college, or an environmental non-profit in town. They are bound to know what's happening on Earth Day.

You might discover Earth Day fairs or festivals at schools, environmental speakers sponsored by a local community group, or a demonstration event put on by a non-profit organization. Some organizations may sponsor a green movie night.

Even if the specific focus of the event isn't a direct hit for your interests, attend the event anyway. If there are several events scheduled in your area, do your best to include a couple of them into your schedule.

What to Do While You Are at the Event
Your goal at the event is to discover opportunities and make contact with the green network in your region.
You aren't likely to walk away from this kind of event with a job or a job opening so let that expectation go.  Instead focus on these actions to make the most of your Earth Day events.
1. Scan the event for topics, organizations, and individuals that interest you. As you walk through the event, pay attention to the topics and opportunities that engage you and interest you.

2. Collect business cards and brochures so you can contact organizations and individuals at a later date.

3. Look for opportunities to volunteer. Ask people what opportunities are available through their organizations. Just listen. Don't expect everything to be of interest. If something doesn't strike a chord with you, move on to the next area. Pay most attention to when you feel  excited or intrigued.

4. Keep your eye out for future events that are being advertised. One event will lead you to the next.

5. Put your name on email lists for upcoming events and announcements. Use a personal email account for announcements only, that way you can cut off emails if you no longer want to receive them.

6. Talk with people about what they do and what their company does. Even if you don't think there's a connection, have the conversation anyway. You'll learn more about companies and organizations in your area and you'll gain more confidence for informational conversations.

7. Follow up with the organizations and individuals you found most interesting. Even if they aren't a direct match to your target career, reach out to broaden your network. Schedule a time to talk by phone or in person. Be curious. Ask more about their role - paid or volunteer. Let them know about your interests.

8. Ask your new contacts if they know anyone else you might talk with. This strategy can pay off in amazing ways because there is no way to predict who someone else knows! This is precisely why there's a benefit to talking with people even if you don't see an immediate connection.
Remember your goal at Earth Day events is to scan for possibilities. Don't get frustrated if you only find one or two viable leads or opportunities. Even one or two connections can snowball to create a much larger network.

Work each connection you uncover! You'll see results grow over time.

Green Career Tip: 5 Tactics to Tame the Overwhelm when Transitioning to a Greener, More Sustainable Career

Overwhelm.

It's a feeling nearly everyone experiences as they transition from one career to another. There's so much information to take in, choices to make, new experiences to make sense of, and things to understand.

I think the feeling of overwhelm often expands when people are trying to find their place within the green, clean, sustainable economy.

Why? Because there tend to be even more unknowns when people transitions an emerging fields. How are industries going to develop? What role can I play in my target industry? What do I need to do to prepare myself for my future career? What companies are in my area?

Five Tactics to Tame Your Overwhelm

1) Acknowledge that transitioning to a greener, more sustainable career can generate feelings of overwhelm. It’s normal. You aren't imagining this; it's real….and you can conquer this feeling.

2) Create a plan for your career transition. Think about your timeline and sketch out how you are going to choreograph your transition. Keep in mind that more significant transitions take a bit longer because you need to build experience, add to your education, and familiarize yourself with your new field. Expecting instant results will only add stress to your journey.

3) Stay focused on where you are right now. Although it’s tempting to try push forward on multiple fronts, you’ll gain more traction focusing on the tasks associated with where you are in your journey.

a.Get Ready – Identify your green career focus
b.Get Set – Prepare for your target position
c.Go – Start your job search

4) Pause to identify the cause of your overwhelm. When you feel that wave of overwhelm strike, don't blindly stumble forward, forcing yourself into action. Stop and take note of the situation. Is there a particular element of your situation that tipped you over the edge today? When you've identified the source of your overwhelm step back to see what you can do to reduce the pressure.

5) Pace yourself. If you were doing too much, back off. If you are trying to read too many sources, choose one to focus on for now. If you were trying to attend too many networking meetings, choose your favorites or set up a rotation schedule. To succeed in your career transition, you must be committed to being in the game for the long run. Think of it as a marathon rather than a sprint. Engage in activities in a way that is sustainable over time.

Questions to Ponder

    Based on previous times of transition, what tends to trigger your feelings of overwhelm?

    What's the first sign that you are on the edge of feeling overwhelmed?

    What's the best way for you to get back in balance the next time you are feeling overwhelmed?

Green Career Tip: What’s Experience Got to Do With It? 5 Strategies to Strengthen Your Career Story

You are excited about your goal to transition into a greener, more sustainable career. You’ve completed a degree (or you are working toward a degree) or you’ve invested in a green certification program.

You know you’ve put in a lot of effort. You’ve learned so much.

You are ready to contribute what you know to the emerging economy. You are excited about your prospects.

Then Reality Sets In…

The prospective employers you talk to are looking for someone with experience.

Experience…you don’t have!

What’s the Deal?

Employers always fill their open positions with the best candidate they can find. After all, their primary goal is to build the strongest business/department/team possible. You can’t blame them for putting their business needs first.  Can you?

Face it…in this economy, employers have a lot of qualified candidates to choose from!

Click here to continue reading this article.

Green Career Tip: Discovering Industry Trends: Tips for Exploring a Tradeshow

Last week my husband and I had the opportunity to visit the exhibit hall at PV America for about 30 minutes before meeting a colleague for dinner.

Although 30 minutes was far from enough time to do the tradeshow justice, I thought I’d share a few impressions from the show and walk you through some pointers about how to gain valuable information about your target industry at a similar kind of event.

First Impressions

Walking in I expected to see wall to wall solar arrays…it was a PV (photovoltaic) industry event after all. Although we didn’t have time to study them all, it appeared that each booth with arrays had some special technological nuance that they were touting. Diagrams, demonstrations, and printed materials within the booths told their stories.

Within a few minutes I picked up on several additional trends – (1) parking structure solar arrays, (2) companies specializing in connectors and hardware to fasten the arrays to rooftops and other mounts, and (3) financial vehicles to fund solar projects.

Making Sense of the Industry/Show

When we picked up our name tags we were give a Conference and Expo Guide (56 pages) with a list of conference sessions and exhibitors. Studying this guide (you can find it online here ) for 30-60 minutes would give you insights about trends, opportunities, and challenges facing the industry.

For instance…the conference sessions were coded by track – Finance, Marketing, Policy, Technology, Utilities, and topics that cut across these tracks. Reading the talk topics will highlight current trends. Make note of presenter names and the companies they represent. Research these individuals and companies on LinkedIn or the Internet for clues for your networking efforts.

Another example…the exhibitors were listed in alpha order and by category. I find that reviewing categories is one of the easiest ways to get a quick snapshot of the industry. In this show, the categories were: Building Integrated PV, Concentrating PV, Consumer PV, Consumer PV Products, Energy Service Providers, Finance, Professional and Business Services, PV Cells, PV Distributors, PV Installers, PV Materials, PV Modules. If you were new to the field, just having this information may give you a new sense of the industry.

Extra Tip: Under each of these categories is a list of exhibiting companies. So….if you are building your list of target companies, you’ve just found a gold mine! Be sure to check out sponsors and media contacts as well if they are listed in the program.

Dig into the Details

At most conferences and tradeshows you are likely to find a few booths that focus on tracking developments in the industry. In the conference guide, I found 15 media sponsors. I made a beeline to one of the booths I recognized to discover what materials they had to offer. I was rewarded with a bonanza of information!

• At the GreenTechMedia booth, I picked up the executive summary of their new publication: U.S. Solar Market Insight Report. Although the full report is nearly $4,000, the executive summary is absolutely accessible to you…because it’s f.r.e.e!  Written in partnership by Solar Energy Industries Association and Green Tech Media’s GTM Research group, this quarterly report is an up-to-date review of the solar industry in 2011. Filled with easy-to-read summaries, visually accessible diagrams and charts, and state-by-state date by industry sector and technology type.  If you are interested in working in the solar industry, I highly recommend you read this 15 page report cover to cover.

• If you are interested in alternative energy in general, I also recommend you check out the publications of two other media sponsors of this event.

-North American Clean Energy – www.nacleanenergy.com
-Ener G – Alternative Sources Magazine – www.altenerG.com

Would You Like to Know More?

PV America (http://www.pvamericaexpo.com/west/about is
presented by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) http://www.seia.org/  and Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) http://www.solarelectricpower.org/. Check out these three sites to learn more about various aspects of the solar industry.

Green Career Tip: Get Inspired & Educated by the Brightest Minds of the Global Sustainability Movement – A Great Opportunity

Resource:  The Spring of Sustainability: Solutions for a Thriving New World. A virtual summit to explore all we can do to leave a healthy, vibrant planet for future generations. Produced by The Shift Network in partnership with the Sustainable World Coalition, the Spring of Sustainability is the world’s largest-ever sustainability events program.

Cost: F r e e !!

When: March 26th-June 22^nd

• Listen live each weekday from 12-12:30 Pacific / 3:00 – 3:30 Eastern
• Or access the audio replays at a time more convenient for you

Where: Via your phone line or computer

Presentations: More than 100 sustainability pioneers - top ecologists, activists, visionaries, scientists, indigenous leaders and sustainability experts - will be talking about all aspects of sustainability, from green activism to green lifestyles to green business.

You’ll hear the latest cutting-edge insights into green building, green business, green living, renewable energy sources, wildlife preservation, and climate change.

You’ll also gain insights about the role of culture and social will have in creating a paradigm shift in economic, political, and social systems that are destroying the planet.

To continue reading this article, click here.