Why All the Fuss About Green Collar Jobs?

If you could improve the environment and strenthen the financial stability of lower income families with the same investment, charitable or otherwise, is there really any limit to what you would be willing to do?

Most donors and foundations I talk to say no, subject to seeing what works, there is, in fact, no limit.

Green collar jobs are defined as "blue-collar work force opportunities created by firms and organizations whose mission is to improve environmental quality," according to the Urban Habitat's Race, Poverty and the Environment.program. The policies involved include those related to zero waste, energy and water conservation, residential solar energy, whole home performance, local procurement, open space, and strengthening local food systems.

Urban Habitat's research shows that the characteristics of green collar jobs are being found in at least 22 sectors. The full list is really interesting, here are a few examples to give a flavor:

Bicycle repair and bike delivery services
Energy retrofits to increase energy efficiency and conservation
Green waste composting on a large scale
Hauling and reuse of construction materials and debris (C&D)
Manufacturing jobs related to large scale production of appropriate technologies (i.e. solar panels, bike cargo systems, green waste bins, etc.)
Non-toxic household cleaning in residential and commercial buildings
Public transit jobs related to driving, maintenance, and repair

Bringing green collar jobs to the urban poor, especially apprenticeships for young workers, is the focus of a growing conversation in the sector.

Oakland-based Van Jones puts it best, according to a recent Fast Company article. He says: "What is considered green is usually for the eco-elite...but if we are actually going to meet the challenge of global warming, we are going to have to weatherize millions of homes and intall millions of solar planels. That's millions of new jobs. We need to connect the people who most need the work with the work that most needs to be done."

The head of a major foundation in the Bay Area notes that the infrastructure for training lower income urban workers in areas such as health care, culinary services, etc. is already in place. Swapping in green collar training over this same infrastructure provides leverage for the infrastructure as well as the grant dollars funding it.

Share your stories to help accelerate learning in this key new area of the economy and philanthropy.

Carla E. Dearing