Green Career Central Blog

Green Career Tip: A Must-Have Skill: Reconnecting With What Inspires You

As green/sustainable pioneers we are at the cutting edge of a new era.

Some days are filled with excitement - new ideas, new movement, and new success stories. It's uplifting to see evidence as communities, businesses, and governments take actions that are more sustainable. We are inspired to change our own actions. We are motivated to step into a role where we can make a difference through our work.  Then there are days, sometimes weeks, when we feel detached from the bigger picture. We are inundated with the news of the day that doesn't have anything to do with a more sustainable world. We lose track of what's happening in the green arena.
 
If we stay unplugged to long, we get discouraged. We may even begin to question if sustainability efforts are making any headway at all.

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Green Jobs Growing: Keeping Up With Companies Committed to Sustainability

When looking for a career in the sustainable, green, or corporate responsibility areas there are obvious businesses sectors to look at; renewable energy, Smart Grid, recycling and environmental remediation to name a just a few.  But there are also an increasing number of companies outside these green industries that are demonstrating their commitment to sustainability as well.

Some companies are committing to reducing their energy consumption. The US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy together are using the Energy Star brand to assist companies with their energy reduction goals.  (The Energy Star brand is also given to household appliances that meet specific energy reduction standards.)

Take a look at the Energy Star list to discover companies that have set specific energy reduction goals. Here are a few examples:

• Ford Motor Company set a goal of 15% improvement in energy efficiency corporate-wide by 2011 with a baseline year of 2006. As of 2008 they had achieved an 8.4% improvement.
  
  
Owens Corning set a goal of reducing energy intensity by 25% by 2012, using 2002 as their baseline.  By the end of 2007 they were half way toward their goal.

Other companies are using renewable energy rather than fossil fuel to power their enterprises.  The Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Partnership maintains lists of companies that are purchasing the most renewable energy in 2011 . Here are a few examples:  

Intel, with large power needs, is purchasing 88% of their power from the renewable sources of solar, wind and biomass, geothermal, and small hydro. 


• Whole Foods and Kohl's Department Stores are both purchasing 100% of their power from the renewable sources of biomass, small hydro, solar and wind.

Take a look at both of these lists to get a sense of the fortune 500, government agencies, and local governments that are making concerted efforts to green their businesses. You may find potential employers that meet your desire to work for a company that is committed to sustainability.

Follow the Green Money: Schneider Electric Purchases Summit Energy, Sunnovations Gets Funding, ET Water Receives $2 Million

Schneider Electric, claiming that 70% of the world's electrons flow through their equipment, has purchased Summit Energy for $268 million.  Summit Energy provides energy consulting and management services to industrial and commercial companies.  IBM has also made a purchase in the Smart Grid sector.  They purchased building energy management software company, Tririga for an undisclosed amount.

Based in McLean, VA, Sunnovations has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from venture capitalists to expand their markets.  Sunnovations sells solar water heating systems to installers. California and New York are two of the states currently offering rebates to home owners who purchase roof top solar water heating systems.   

A maker of water conservation hardware and software, ET Water has received $2 million in funding from venture capitalists.  A portion of the funding will be used to expand distribution to nationwide networks.

Google.Org Takes On Uninformed Lawmakers Over Lack of Climate Science Knowledge

"We are seeing very clearly with climate change that our policy choices are currently not grounded in knowledge and understanding," according to Paul Higgins, an associate policy director for the American Meterological Society. 

During the past week in the Energy and Commerce Committee of the US House, Democratic members  put forth three amendments that would accept that climate change is occurring; that it is due in large part to human activity; and that man made global warming poses a threat to public health and welfare. Not a single Republican voted in favor of the amendments. 

In order to counter the anti-science perspective taken by elected members of Congress and the public, Google.org has gathered a team of 21 climate researchers in order to improve the effectivness of climate change messaging.  Paul Higgins, quoted above, will become one of the 21 Google Science Communication Fellows.  

The Fellows will be sharpening their media skills and making climate science information more accessible to lawmakers and the public. 

Green Career Trends: Report Says Every Company is an Energy Company, Prototype Wave Energy Device Being Tested, Entrepreneur Magazine Lists Top Green MBA Universities and Colleges

While some may not think so, Every Company is an Energy Company, according to a new report from Deloitte.  The report asserts that those companies that are not monitoring their power usage currently will be doing so within the next ten years. The report also contains a bold prediction.  "But a decade from now, a company without an 'energy and sustainability' department could be as unusual as one without a human resources department. Either that, or it might be out of business."

The Sea Ray, a prototype device designed and built by Columbia Power Technologies, produces electricity from wave energy.  The Sea Ray buoy is being tested in Puget Sound where it is remotely operated from company headquarters in Corvallis, OR.  It has been estimated that worldwide wave energy could produce enough electricity to power 600 million homes and be worth over $900 billion
annually.

Entrepreneur magazine has created a list of the top MBA colleges and universities that offer sustainability programs. The list contains a brief description of the green curriculum, the number of students in the program and the price of tuition.  Ten of the schools on the list also made the Beyond Gray Pinstripes list.

Green Career Tip: Back to Basics, Green Terms You Must Know

Do you ever feel lost in all the terms used within the green economy? You can often determine an industry’s phase of development by the terms used to describe it. At the early stage there are no words, then there are very general words, and then there’s an abundance of overlapping terms to make sense of. That’s where we are right now.

As with any cutting edge field, the terminology isn’t settled. A variety of terms can be used to describe similar concepts. The same term may be used in different ways by different groups.

For a time a range of terms and phases coexist as various groups and thought leaders introduce new ideas to explain the new direction. Over time, it’s likely some terms will gain favor while others will fade from use.

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Green Jobs Growing: Climate Corps Embeds Sustainability Interns In Major Corporations

For those seeking a way into the green economy an internship is frequently the avenue used.  The Environmental Defense Fund has organized a program called Climate Corps that embeds MBA students into large corporations seeking to reduce their energy costs and improve efficiency. While spending a summer within these companies, interns gain valuable experience exercising their quantitative and technical skills while increasing their network of contacts within the sustainability field. 

Megan Rast, an MBA student at the University of California, Berkeley was recently placed as a Climate Corps intern.  Megan was embedded with Internet giant, Ebay, a challenging position to be sure.  Ebay has a green team, uses solar energy and has a highly efficient data center that forced Megan to look into other areas of energy usage.  By using power management software, the IT department was given the ability to override excessive power consumption of company personal computers. You can read Megan's blog to learn more about her experiences at Ebay.

If you are interested in learning more, check out Hunt Briggs' energy efficiency suggestions based on his work as a Climate Corps intern at Biltmore Farms in 2009.

If you are a MBA student interested in adding this experience to your resume, here is more information.

Follow the Green Money: Smith Vehicles Raises $58 Million, SustainX Receives $14.4 Million, CoolPlanetBiofuels Receives Funding from Google Ventures

A maker of electric trucks, Smith Vehicles has raised $58 million from a share sale.  A portion of this funding will be used to finance the acquisition of Smith Electric Vehicles United Kingdom. Smith builds commercial trucks for a variety of uses including transport of goods, aerial lifts, refrigeration, flatbed and military use.  The US Marines have already made a purchase with Smith. 

SustainX, a compressed air storage company, has received $14.4 million from venture capitalists including GE.  The funding will be used to build a 1MW facility that will take excess energy produced by a power plant and use it to compress air into tanks or an underground cavern.  Later the compressed air can be released to power a turbine and produce electricity.

Google Ventures has invested an undisclosed amount into CoolPlanetBiofuels, a company that has developed technology that turns low grade bio mass into biofuel.  Using organic waste products to make fertilizer, Harvest Power has raised $51.7 million from venture capitalists.

Green Career Trends: Pepsi Creates 100% Plant Based Bottle, Using Recycled Materials to Rebuild Haiti, Conflict Over Bicycle Transportation

Pepsi Cola has announced it has made a beverage bottle entirely from plant material.  This new bottle is currently made up of switch grass, pine park, corn husks and other organic material.  The next generation of this bottle will contain orange peels, potato scraps, oat hulls collected from waste materials from Pepsi's other food businesses.  Plans call for testing the bottle in 2012.  Also 7th Generation has announced a new paper bottle that will replace its plastic bottle for laundry detergent.

Reconstructing earth quake ravaged Haiti is an uphill push.  One group of home builders is trying to make it easier and earth friendly.  By using ground up rubble for floors and walls, and other green building techniques, Michael Reynolds of Earthship Homes estimates that material costs for building a home in Haiti at $5,000.  He is working to reduce those costs to $2,000.

Two sides of an ongoing debate are starting to emerge.  As fuel prices continue to climb, will Americans reduce their number of car trips and increase their number of bicycle trips? The benefits are plentiful, better health for the rider, cleaner air for community, fewer green house gas emissions for the planet.  But there are also some groups that do not agree.  They would like to take back the bicycle lanes carved out of the auto lanes. 

Demonstrate Your Value to Green Employers with an "Attention-Getting" Green Resume

Feeling frustrated about your green resume?

Demonstrate Your Value to Green Employers with an "Attention-Getting" Green Resume

In working with clients I’ve seen three main reasons people struggle with their resume.

• They are trying to develop a resume before they know their target position.
• They aren’t familiar with their target green job and green industry.
• They don’t have enough relevant experience to build a compelling green resume.

Without a clear focus, industry familiarity, and relevant experience, your green resume is bound to end up in the circular file!

• Hiring managers want to see proof that you have green/clean/sustainable values.
• They want to see that you have worked in the field and produced results.
• They want to see that you are a leader. 

We are launching a new eBook, 101 Ways to Green Your Resume, to walk you through simple and effective strategies you can use to gather viable green experiences that will strengthen your resume.

If you are serious about landing a green position, start now by engaging in your industry in ways that enhance your resume. This eBook will show you 101 ways to approach this rather daunting task and make it doable, achievable, and energizing.