Green Career Central Blog

Celebrating Earth Week – How You Can Apply Your Expertise to the Issues of the Day

"The wealth of the nation is its air, water, soil, forests, minerals, rivers, lakes, oceans, scenic beauty, wildlife habitats and biodiversity… that’s all there is. That’s the whole economy. That’s where all the economic activity and jobs come from.
These biological systems are the sustaining wealth of the world."

– Gaylord Nelson, US Senator, Governor,
and Principal Founder of Earth Day

Although we don't often stop to think about it in these terms, the raw materials used to create the modern world ultimately come from the planet. As Gaylord Nelson put it in his book, Beyond Earth Day: Fulfilling the Promise, "The economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment, not the other way around."

In other words, the future of our economy doesn't hold much promise unless we create a relationship with the natural world that's grounded in restoration, regeneration, and sustainability.

I've been passionate about living sustainably, within our means, since I was quite young. I didn't have the words to explain this conviction at the time, but looking back I can see clues throughout my childhood.  My strong affinity with the natural world made it painful for me (and still does) to see natural resources wasted without a second thought.

Although I continued to be concerned about the way we treated the natural world, I didn't really see how I could make a difference through my work as a career transition consultant. Then in early 2007, as the media was just beginning to highlight the personal actions we needed to take to combat the effects of climate change, I had two life-changing realizations.

1. As I imagined the transition to a greener, more sustainable way of life I realized new innovations and discoveries would lead the way. This would spark new industries to emerge, and hopefully flourish. As I continued to follow this train of thought, I realized that these shifts would lead to a wide array of new careers. And given the emerging nature of this new industrial revolution, this period had the potential to completely change how we work and how we find work.
   
   
2. The most effective way I could make a difference on the environmental issues I care so deeply about was to shift my own career to focus on helping passionate professionals figure out how to apply their expertise to the issues of the day.

Within seven weeks of having these two epiphanies, I launched Green Career Central on Earth Day 2007 with the release of an ebook that cataloged green job boards.

In the early days “green” jobs and “green collar” jobs were getting a lot of media attention.

A small contingent of my peers and I were also talking about the importance of green careers for professionals.

If a career or position helped the planet in some way, I considered it "green."

Fast forward to 2013. Times have changed. The “green” word doesn’t have the same cachet it once had. The emerging trend is to tap into a broader approach to change, where environmental impact is only one piece of the puzzle. Given the emergent nature of this movement, different professions and industries use different words to refer to the same idea and the same word to mean different things. For a time, sustainability was the “hot” word. Now resilient, adaptive, and regenerative are gaining favor. I expect our semantics will continue to evolve as our thinking and understanding of the issues and solutions deepen and expand. 

In recent years I've considered renaming my business to reflect the “current” terminology, but then I realized finding the “right” word is a bit of a moving target these days! So instead I’ve developed my own definition that captures the expansive way I think about "green careers".

As our gift to you to celebrate Earth Week and our 7th Anniversary, we've just released a new Special Report, "Two Ways You May Be Unwittingly Derailing Your Transition to a Greener, More Sustainable Career and What You Can Do Right Now to Get Back on Track"

Visit our Facebook page to grab this informative free report -->

As we celebrate Earth Week this year, we are excited to be stepping into a new era at Green Career Central and we look forward to working with you.

 

Expand What You Know about Sustainability

"The longest journey begins with a single step"  --Lao Tzu

When I listen to my clients talk about their passions and their career direction, it's amazing how frequently they talk about having an "a-ha" moment after hearing someone speak or learning about a new concept they'd never heard of before.

In this week's newsletter, I highlight a 3-month opportunity to immerse yourself in the presentations of 30 top experts in sustainability...all at NO COST! It's a great opportunity to expand your knowledge, and open yourself up to new insights about the field you are passionate about.

Read all the details about the Spring of Sustainability online conference and how you can get involved.

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Would you like to connect with others who share your passion for the planet and for sustainable solutions? 

Join our Green Career Central Facebook Community - look for the "Join" link in the upper right corner of the group's page.

See you there!

 

Celebrating Green Career Central's 5th Anniversary! Green Economy Map

As we begin to celebrate our 5th Anniversary, we are tracing changes in the green economy over the last five years.

As I wrote this week's newsletter article it was  interesting to see how much more we know about the green economy now compared to the early days of Green Career Central in 2007.

Tracing development through the lens of developing my Green Economy Map will give you a new appreciation for how far we've come in understanding the industries that make up the green economy.

I share behind the scene details about how I developed:

• Our first green career product,
• My first Green Economy Map,
• The 50 industry profiles I included in Green Careers For Dummies,
• And the Green Economy Map, above.
  

Check out the full article Green Economy Map: Then and Now

 

Green Career Tip: Seven Job Search Dos and Don'ts From Green Employers

On Friday I facilitated a panel of clean energy employers at Congresswoman Jackie Speier's 4th Job Hunter's Boot Camp. As representatives of the various clean energy employers were answering the questions I posed, I realized their answers would be perfect for a Dos and Don'ts article for this week's Green Career Tip.

Job Search Don'ts

• If you aren't qualified for a job...don't apply!
  
• Don't spam an employer by applying indiscriminately to many positions.

Job Search Dos

• Having a polished profile on LinkedIn is a MUST! In house recruiters use LinkedIn heavily to learn more about potential candidates. Make sure your profile says what you want it to say!
  
• If you are submitting your resume online, consider including a link to your LinkedIn profile to give hiring managers and recruiters more information about you.

For more Do's and Don'ts, read the full Green Career Tip of the Week. 

Follow the Green Money: HelioVolt Borrows $8.5 Million, Envia Systems Receives $7 Million From GM Ventures, EnerNoc Purchases M2M Communications

Austin, TX based HelioVolt has borrowed $8.5 million to continue developing its thin film solar panels.  HelioVolt uses CIGS panels that apply the solar cells to a thin film of material rather than the other common technology of building panels using photovoltaic solar cells. 

GM Ventures, the funding arm of the automaker, has invested $7 million in Envia Systems.  Envia is developing high energy density materials for batteries to be used in electric vehicles.  Other venture capital investors added $10 million for a total investment of $17 million.  Envia is based near the Silicon Valley in Newark, CA.

EnerNoc, the demand response energy management company has expanded their business to include agriculture with the purchase of M2M Communications.  By turning down water pumps and other irrigation systems, M2M is able to reduce energy use and save money for farmers.  The purchase price of the acquisition was not disclosed.  EnerNoc is based in Boston, MA.

SD Forum Presenting the State of Corporate Sustainability on Wed. Feb. 2nd

At this event, representatives from major Silicon Valley companies will be speaking about early adoption of sustainability practices for financial rewards rather than costs.  Come hear Michael Beutler, SAP, Scott Coleman, Google, Joyce Dickerson, Stanford University, Brian Goncher, Deloitte, Bruce Klafter, Applied Materials, Inc., Andrew Williamson, Physic Ventures, and the moderator Mitch Zuklie, Orrick, speak about corporations embracing sustainability.  The event on Wed. the 2nd will begin with networking at 6pm, speakers from 7pm until 8pm, and QandA and networking from 8-8:30pm.  The location of the event is at the offices of Orrick, 1100 Marsh Road, Menlo Park, CA. 

If you reside in the Bay Area of CA and have identified corporate sustainability as your green niche, this is a great opportunity to network and learn about what is happening within corporations as they begin adopting sustainability practices. To register for this event, click on this link. 

The SD Forum is a non profit organization that fosters innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership in Silicon Valley.

 

Follow the Green Money: DOE Makes Loan Guarantee of $967 Million to NRG Energy, US Gov't Agencies Make Loan Guarantees of $250 Million to Three Biofuel Companies, Scientific Conservation Receives $15.7 Million

The Department of Energy has made a conditional loan guarantee of $967 million to NRG Energy for their 290 megawatt Agua Caliente solar project in Arizona. NRG has a 25 year purchase power agreement with PG&E.  Based in Princeton, NJ, NRG has career openings throughout the U.S.

Three biofuels companies are getting loan guaranties from US governmental agencies  The USDA will make a $250 million loan guarantee to Coskata, and $80 million to Enerkem.  The DOE will make a loan guarantee of $241 million to Diamond Green Diesel (a joint venture between Valero and Darling International). 

Based in San Francisco, CA, Scientific Conservation has received $15.7 million from venture capitalists.  Scientific Conservation uses software as service to monitor energy consumption of commercial and governmental buildings in real time and use that data to predict the buildings energy use in the future.

 

Green Career Trends: GE to Buy Lineage Power Holdings, Study Predicts More Green IT, Meritage Homes Offering Homes with Abundance of Green Features

With the offer of acquisition to Lineage Power Holdings by General Electric, they will be moving into the data center storage and telecom power conversion industry, an estimated $20 billion-per-year industry.  The offering price for Lineage was $520 million. 

In a new study from the International Data Corporation, an IT research company, they predict the utility industry will adopt IT at a rate only exceeded by the health care industry.  Electricity and Smart Grid projects are expected to drive the utility adoption at the rate of 5.3%, just slightly higher than general business.  The same study also predicted there will be more than 60,000 plug-in electric vehicles in North America in 2011, and solar photovoltaic installations will double, among other predictions. 

In Gilbert, AZ, Meritage Homes is offering 210 homes in the Lyons Gate division, each with plenty of green building features.  Each home offers advanced solar and thermal power that can be controlled and monitored from anywhere via smart phone or computer. Low VOC paints, low flow fixtures in the bathroom, Energy Star appliances, highly energy efficient lighting, and thermal pane windows are all standard in each home at no additional cost.  The long term savings on water and energy costs of a Meritage green home could be substantial. 

Green Career Tip - Claim Your Green Career in 2011

It’s always an interesting moment to open up a newsletter folder for the new year! A blank slate. Since we launched in November 2007, I’ve written over 150 newsletters! We’ve covered a lot of territory together over the years! I look forward discovering what 2011 has in store.

Over the holidays Kent and I saw a number of signs of progress, innovation, and commitment to sustainability.  Although evidence of the green economy may not be reaching mainstream news on a regular basis, notable developments continue to unfold. Do you want a career in this evolving new world? Read this week's newsletter for more information.

Follow the Green Money: DOE Makes Loan Guarantee for $1.3 Billion for Wind Farm, Trilliant Expanding Market to Asia, DOE Awarding $184 Million for Energy Efficiency Improvements to Vehicles

It is the largest amount Follow the Green Money has ever written about, a $1.3 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy to Caithness Energy for their planned wind farm at Shepard's Flat in eastern Oregon.  When completed the farm will have the capacity to deliver 845 megawatts of electricity, and it will become the largest on-land wind farm in the world.

Based in Redwood City, CA, Trilliant, a maker of hardware and software for networking utilities, is expanding their business to Asia with the investment help of Microelectronics.  Asia is experiencing an increasing demand for electricity and the Smart Grid products produced by Trilliant will make that transition easier and cheaper.  The Trilliant career page lists job descriptions within the company.

The Department of Energy is also awarding grants totaling $184 million to companies and researchers that are working on improving the energy efficiency of vehicles.  Among the categories that are eligible for funding are:  light weight materials, advanced battery technology, and efficient driver feedback technologies.