Renewable Energy and Green Jobs:
Where are the Jobs & Career
Opportunities?
John L. Cusack
President, Gifford Park Associates
and
Adjunct Finance Professor, Iona College
Encouraging Students Towards STEM & IT CareersPrinciples, Supervisors, and School Counselors
Conference
23 March 2010
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Where My Perspective Comes From…
- 30+ years staff & senior executive experience in the
financial, environmental, energy & technology industries
- President, Gifford Park Associates (a sustainability
management consulting to business/financial firms)
- Co-founder and startup CEO of Innovest Strategic Value
Advisors, one of the first corporate sustainability
performance rating agencies/investment research houses
- Former Executive Director of the NJ Higher
Education Partnership for Sustainability (NJHEPS)
- Adjunct Finance Professor, Iona College (teaching course
entitled “Sustainable Finance” for past 4 years)
- MCE in Enviro. Eng’ring & Science, BCE in Civil Eng’ring,
(Manhattan College), MBA in Mgmt. (NYU Stern School)
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Agenda
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What is a “Green Job”?
Emerging Alternative Energy/Green Jobs
Other Green Occupations
Key to Success- think Sustainable, not Green
Examples from the Business World
Advice for Career Advisors on the Future
Sustainable Business and Academic Worlds
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What Is a Green Job?
“Green jobs…help conserve energy, promote the
deployment of new technologies, and contribute to
the mission of becoming a more sustainable nation.”
Green Job Corps
“...a major shift to renewable energy and efficiency is expected
to produce 2 million new…Green jobs during the next three
decades.”
US Conference of Mayors
“...a clean energy economy will help the private sector create
4 million new Green jobs.”
President Barack Obama
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Why we Need Green Jobs Now
• Opportunity to create new jobs, or retraining the
unemployed, in a time of economic downturn/turmoil.
• Developing our renewable energy resources can reduce our
dependence on foreign oil, & strengthen national security.
• Promoting the use of domestic renewable energy resources
and advanced technologies can create well-paying jobs.
• Energy use reduction programs can reduce tax burdens of
energy-inefficient public buildings and public housing.
• We can mitigate/manage climate change by cutting green
house gas emissions through cutting energy use.
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Emerging Green Occupations
• Tradesmen and Supervisors for •
Energy Efficiency Construction •
• Building Automation Specialist •
• Renewable Energy Site
•
Assessor
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• Renewable Energy Systems
•
Installer
• Green Building Operator
• Green Landscape Professional
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Geothermal Specialist
Ice Storage Technician
Biofuel Processing Technician
Fuel Cell Technician
Wind Turbine Technician
Advanced Transportation
Systems Technician
• Waste Handling Engineer
• Green Building Maintainer
Growth in NJ Solar Photovoltaics
NJ now has second largest
number of solar installations
in USA, has highest MW of
production/sq. mile of solar
photovoltaic energy in USA
(www.njcleanenergy.com)
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NJ Green Education Continuum
Utilizing the existing agencies and our higher education structure, New Jersey
could create a continuum of educational programs and certification
training to prepare participants with the skills necessary to tackle
tomorrow’s energy and sustainability career opportunities.
Tier 1 Research Opportunities
• - Rutgers, NJIT, Princeton, Stevens, Rowan, etc.
Business Applications
• - Stevens Environmental Entrepreneurshp Program and FDU’s Institute for
Sutainable Enterprise, 14 State incubators
Tomorrow’s High-Tech Technicians
• - Community Colleges, Senior Colleges & Research Institutions
Upgrade Trades and Apprenticeships
• - Labor Unions, Community Colleges, Utilities
Urban Revitalization & Small Business Development
• - Department of Labor, EDA, Business Incubators, BPU/Utility Incentives
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NJ Higher Education Partnership for
Sustainability (NJHEPS)
 Consortium of 47 NJ higher education institutions (+ one NY
college), promoting and practicing the integration of sustainability
into higher education
 Sponsors services, events & conferences to share best practices
and promote sustainable operations, curriculum and communities
 Membership-driven agenda and teams
 Has worked with a number of New Jersey colleges and universities on
Green jobs issues
 Lean- Just one NJHEPS staff people, plus interns, plus volunteers
 Visit website, www.njheps.org for more information
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What About Other ‘Green’ Careers?
There are MANY more “Green” Career Positions beyond
Alternative Energy & Green Jobs in the Business World:
• Financial Jobs
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Trade Renewable Energy, & Carbon Credit Trading
Venture Capitalists
Analyze financial impacts of sustainability issues on bottom line
Analyze climate change risks for insurance industry
• Operations Management
– Sustainability Coordinator
– Green Processes Engineer
• Marketing
– Green Products Marketing/Sales Manager
• Research & Development
– Green Products Developer/Innovator
• Senior Management
– Chief Sustainability Officer
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Key to Success: Don’t Aim for a Green
Job, But Aim to Make Any Job Green…
 Tell Students to aim to work for a sustainable
company- i.e., one with good values and culture.
 Train Students how sustainability principles are
applied to business & society’s decisions, which
should lead to better business decisions from society’s
standpoint, no matter what is one’s job.
 Sustainability/green issues are very inter-disciplinary:
suggest you introduce students to systems thinking and
holistic approaches.
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Key to Success: Don’t Aim for a Green
Job, But How to Make any Job Green…
 Beware of subsidy-driven jobs. - i.e., NJ Governor
freezing $150m in funds targeted towards energy
efficiency and renewable energy jobs, despite statistic that
gross state product is increased $5.70 for every $1.00
spent by efficiency programs, resulting in the equivalent
of 41 additional jobs for each million dollars of annual
spending, saving operating costs for life of building or
factory, and cutting climate risks.*
 As Sustainability is increasingly integrated into
business/government polices, processes and culture, all
careers will become Green & Sustainable!
* source: Environment NorthEast Report, “Energy Efficiency: Engine of Economic Growth,”, March 2010
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What is Sustainability?
- More than Just Being Green…
 My definition of sustainability is:
“ integrating environmental, social and economic
issues into all the decision-making processes of an
organization or person.”
 “… development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their needs.”*
* The Brundtland Commission on Sustainable Development (1983)
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Sustainable Business:
“The major challenge -and
opportunity - of our time is to
create a form of commerce
that uplifts the entire human
community of 6.5 billion and
does so in a way that
respects both natural and
cultural diversity. Indeed, that
is the only realistic and viable
pathway to a sustainable
world, And business can and must - lead the way.”
Stuart L. Hart, Professor of
Sustainability, Cornell
Business School (2007)
©FJ Corp 2009 - Portfolio Strategy, Product Development & Investment Risk Management
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Companies can be Successful
AND Sustainable
http://utc.com/investors/proxy/g79229g45e26.jpg
http://www.ieee.ca/ccece08/images/GE.jpg
http://industry.bnet.com/food/images/logo-greenmountain-coffee-web.jpg
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http://pearldistrict.com/siteimages/servdir_10000012_pic_1545.jpg
What Business Sustainability Risks &
Opportunities Are Creating Jobs?
 Biggest job creation sustainability risks/opportunities
are related to climate change & energy use solutions.
- Behavior as important as Technology…
 Second largest risk/opportunity is Water, and often
water & climate change issues are closely linked.
 The third is the shift in mainstream consumers towards
‘green’ sustainable products (and not just cars).
 Procter & Gamble announced they are making 500 of their
leading products ‘more sustainable’ to serve mainstream markets,
not the environmental fringe market.
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What the Financial & Corporate
Sectors Think of Sustainability
“Sustainability,
without a real business case, is mere
philanthropy;
without measurement, mere whimsy;
without meaningful reporting to shareholders, mere
public relations.
Today’s best-run companies – and smartest investors
– are seeing sustainability for what it truly is: a
strategic business driver that will separate the
winners from the losers in the next decade. “
- Andrew Savitz, former lead partner of PWC’S Sustainable Business
Practices Group, in the 25 Oct 2005 issue of the Financial Times
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What the Accounting Sector
Thinks of Sustainability
“Professional accountants need to adapt
to a world in which sustainability is the
key to long-term business performance,
and need to understand how, in their
diverse roles in organizations, they play
a significant role.”
- The International Federation of Accountants, Sustainability
Framework, 6 February 2009 (http://web.ifac.org/sustainabilityframework/overview)
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Sustainability Examples from
the Business World:
 Nearly 70 per cent of chief executives of mid-sized to large
businesses believe sustainability is vital to their firm’s
profitability, will remain a high priority and become a
competitive business advantage (PWC survey).
 475 investment firms ,controlling over $55 trillion of assets,
signed a letter asking CEO’s of the world’s 3,000 largest firms
to report their climate change strategy, risks and opportunities
to investors. 80% response rate!
 State pension funds like CalSTRS use sustainability
performance as an investment screen AND earn higher
investment returns with lower risks.
 Leading companies increased, or kept constant, sustainability
spending during recession, and had higher profits than peers.
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Sustainability Issues Affect
Business Responsibility & Ethics:
• “Business cannot succeed in societies that fail.
There is no future for successful business if
the societies that surround it are not working.
Governments and business must create
partnerships to deliver essential societal
services like energy, water, health care and
infrastructure.”
- Bjorn Stigson, President, the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development, 2008
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Being Sustainable is Often Just
Being Efficient, Which Adds
Significant Economic Value
Waste (cost)
In
(cost)
Industrial
Process/Service
Out
(revenue)
Basic Economics: What comes in must equal what
goes out -reducing waste adds output or reduces
input- thus adding revenue or cutting costs!
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Is Climate Change Really Happening?
- the Debate is Over…
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What Academic Leaders
Think of Sustainability
- Sustainability has every potential to become a new
principle for organizing knowledge production and
application and for reorganizing our institutions.
[It] is a concept with as much transformative
potential as justice, liberty, and equality.
- Michael Crow, President, Arizona State University
- ‘If higher education is not relevant to solving the
crisis of global warming, it is not relevant, period.’
- David Hales, President, College of the Atlantic
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So What Does This Mean for
High School Career Advisors?
 Suggesting that students be ‘green’, will not be enough.
 Key is to have a job that adds value. Can students help
business implement sustainability in a manner that adds
economic, environmental, social and moral value for
businesses? Then they will not just a job, but a career…
 It may help to attend a college/university that values
sustainability. Look for sustainability in their campus
operations, curricula, research and communities. Ratings
available from Princeton Review, NWF, SEI, others.
 If sustainability is important to business, ask why is there
not more teaching about sustainability in education?
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Advice to Students, Faculty & Advisors
- Give yourself a competitive advantage by learning
more about sustainability issues, and how they affect
you and your (and students) career.
- Remember every job can be a ‘green’ job, if you
integrate sustainability issues into your decisions.
- Consider these issues in both your personal and
business life… (purchasing, voting, investing, etc.)
- Tell students to never stop learning, as impact of
sustainability issues on business is rapidly changing!
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SummaryBeing Sustainable Can Materially Affect Your
Students’ Future, and Society’s
• Businesses will need employees who can measure, assess,
manage, research and make informed decisions on
sustainability issues in the business world & society.
• Many of these issues will require science, technology,
engineering & math skills, including behavorial sciences.
• Sustainability issues do have direct material financial
impact, and are being used as indicators of good business
management, talent recruitment and future performance.
• Preparing your students for a sustainable society is the best
career advice you can give- we are all in this together!
“We have met the enemy and he is us”…Pogo
A Final Thought:
• “Men stumble over the truth from time to time,
but most pick themselves up and hurry on as if
nothing happened.”
- Winston Churchill
• Don’t let obstacles & barriers prevent your
students from being active participants in a
sustainable society through embarking on
science, technology, engineering, math and IT
careers!!!
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My Contact Information
Web Site:
www.giffordpark.net
Phone:
GPA: +914-527-3085 (USA)
Email:
Johnlcusack@att.net
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ASSOCIATES