The Green Economy: Definitions & Implications

The Apeiron Institute for Sustainable Living

www.apeiron.org

Sustainable Business Group

Tomás Alberto Ávila

Associate Director

Sustainable Business Development

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Executive Summary......................................................................................5

Overview of the Green Economy..................................................................7

THE GREEN ECONOMY.............................................................................................8

The “greening” of occupations...........................................................................8

Green Increased Demand Occupations..............................................................8

Green Enhanced Skills Occupations..................................................................8

Green New and Emerging (N&E) Occupations..................................................9

MAJOR GREEN ECONOMY SECTORS...........................................................................9

Renewable Energy Generation...........................................................................9

Transportation....................................................................................................9

Energy Efficiency...............................................................................................9

Green Construction............................................................................................9

Energy Trading..................................................................................................9

Energy and Carbon Capture..............................................................................9

Research, Design, and Consulting Services.......................................................9

Environment Protection.....................................................................................9

Agriculture and Forestry..................................................................................10

Manufacturing..................................................................................................10

Recycling and Waste Reduction.......................................................................10

Governmental and Regulatory.........................................................................10

SUMMARY..............................................................................................................10

LEGISLATIVE/CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTION................................................................11

Rhode Island Legislative..................................................................................11

Appendix A.................................................................................................14

ABOUT SUSTAINABLE RHODE ISLAND......................................................................14

Appendix B.................................................................................................16

California’s Working Definition Of The Green Economy.....................................16

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Executive SummaryThere is perhaps no area creating more interest from economists, legislators, or the general public than “The Green Economy.” This intrigue has created a flurry of reports to address potential impacts to jobs and the economy, as well as strong public investments from local, state, and federal governments. Rhode Island’s educational infrastructure will play a critical role in training the local green-collar workforce, and will therefore require a comprehensive understanding of the needs of industry to appropriately meet this challenge.

For all of the interest generated by the green economy, there is an equal amount of confusion, skepticism, and misunderstanding. Much of this can be attributed to a lack of consistency in defining green jobs and firms and an inconsistent understanding of the practical implications of the greening of the economy. The Centers of Excellence initiated a study of the green economy in the fall of 2008. The intent of the paper is to create a better understanding of the green economy for governments, businesses, schools, churches, communities, unions and homes. The objectives of the report were as follows:

Provide definitions for green economy, sectors, jobs and green occupations to allow for consistent use and understanding;

Illustrate the various scenarios for how green is affecting the workforce; Demonstrate the green subsectors, traditional occupations and sectors, and

emerging occupations and sectors; and Provide a framework for additional study to help individual, policy makers

and government sectors respond to this new green reality. Build upon practical solutions produced collaboratively by multiple

networks striving to define the green economy. Given the complex nature of the green economy and its continuing

evolution, this framework should be considered a “living documents it will undergo future revisions as more becomes known about the direction of the various green industry sectors and occupations.

Increasing energy and commodity costs, legislative requirements, and consumer demands for a more sustainable environment have all led to a substantial push for a green economy in industries such as energy and utilities, construction, transportation, and manufacturing. Understanding the green economy and the opportunities it provides for RI and its workforce is of critical importance.

A number of local developments in public and private investment and regulation have contributed to the green movement. A $70 million environmental bond that Governor Carcieri enacted has been overwhelmingly approved by voters. Some of the funds have been used to improve point-source facilities in Barrington, Burrillville, Cranston, East Greenwich, East Providence, Jamestown, Middletown, Warren, Warwick, West Warwick, Westerly, and Woonsocket. 2 The Obama Administration estimates that the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will create over 12,000 jobs in Rhode Island1, thousands of which will be in green sectors. Three billion dollars have been allocated for

1 http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/Recovery_Act_congressional_district_jobs_2-17.pdf

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education and training programs, with over $500 million earmarked in the Department of Labor alone for training workers for the green economy. Additional monies are being made available through other local, state and federal agencies.

Given these recent economic and legislative developments, preparing a workforce for the green economy has become a top priority. Policy makers across the country and in Rhode Island are trying to rapidly adapt job training programs to align with the needs of green industries. However, the ambiguity around the definitions and classifications of green job markets and how they relate to the Green Economy has made this task rather challenging.

The emerging green economy is diverse and widespread. To varying degrees, every state is witnessing growth in some green industry segment, and more often than not, this business growth is building off of existing strengths in the state. Familiar products and services are finding new uses or are taking new forms in response to new market demands. As policy makers implement new standards (e.g. building efficiency standards, renewable portfolio standard), incentives and regulations, new business opportunities emerge to meet growing demand.

Analyzing a state’s green economy in terms of the scope of green business activity can reveal areas of comparative advantage, promising areas for R&D investment and workforce development, and opportunities for building partnerships within and across green industry segments. Additionally, as incentives and new regulations are introduced, this information reveals the extent of a state’s business base for meeting the coming demand for things such as highly efficiency appliances, renewable energy generation systems, high‐efficiency building products, and low‐emission fuels.

This document examines core green business activity and focuses on defining the green economy. It also seeks to ascertain the implications of the green economy for job creation. After extensive research on the Green Economy and Green Careers the Sustainable Business Group (SBG) has decided to adopt O*Net’s definition of the green economy and green careers. O*Net is the nation’s primary source for occupational information.

Central to understanding the green economy and green careers is the O*NET database, which contains information on hundreds of standardized occupation-specific descriptors. The database, is available to the public at no cost and is continually updated by surveying a broad range of workers from each occupation. Information from the database forms the heart of O*NET OnLine, an interactive application for exploring and searching occupations.

Rather than reinvent the wheel, the intent of this document is to stand on the shoulders of, and synthesize, the existing work that has sought to define the Green Economy and Green Careers. SBG has used existing documents like: Greening of the World of Work: Implications for O*NET®-SOC and New and Emerging Occupations, Greening Rhode Island: An Issues Paper by The Rhode

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Island Senate Policy Office. In addition, we have researched what is happening in this state, across the country, and around the world to arrive at our definition of the green economy and its implications.

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Overview of the Green EconomyIt is certainly no exaggeration to note that the label “green” has become ubiquitous. Underlying this prevalence is a substantial body of literature focused on all things green.

This literature spans multiple disciplines (e.g., labor economics, engineering, environmental science) and is found in a variety of outlets ranging from the popular press to governmental reports to academic journals. The overall conclusion from this burgeoning domain is that the “greening” of our national economy is not only currently underway, but also that it should be met with concerted efforts to significantly increase both intellectual and financial capital investments. Numerous arguments for such amplified attention are frequently proffered to include issues of national security, environmental protection, climate change, and domestic job growth.

Enabling focused investment requires systematic study to better understand and define what it means to be “green.” The rush to jump on the “green” bandwagon has outpaced the development of a concept of what it actually means to be green. For example, consider the praise by the popular press of individuals “going green” by using recycled goods and reducing consumption, or specific companies by increasing energy efficiency, or municipalities offering grants for green residential construction projects (e.g., fitting homes with solar panels). In other words, green activities can range from choosing a specific brand of cleaning spray to installing a wind energy farm.

To determine the workforce ramifications of this vast array of green activities is a substantial undertaking. The first step is to focus the scope by developing a precise and bounded definition of what the green economy means in the context of jobs or occupations.

A thorough understanding of any job or occupation requires an understanding of the context in which these entities exist. One way to conceptualize the broader context of work is through an economic lens – in the present case, what is referred to as the green economy. Fortunately, there is a general consensus in the extant literature regarding the scope of the green economy, which is summarized in the definition below.

The green economy encompasses the economic activity related to reducing the use of fossil fuels, decreasing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the efficiency of energy usage, recycling materials, and developing and adopting renewable sources of energy234

2 U.S. Metro Economies: Green Jobs in U.S. Metro Areas (2008, October). GlobalInsight.

http://www.usmayors.org/pressreleases/uploads/GreenJobsReport.pdf

3 Characteristics of Canadian Environmental Practitioners (2006). ECO Canada, ELM Research, R.A. Malatest & Associates.

4 McCarthy, M. (2008, February). Going from “Blue Collar” to “Green Collar” in Work Force Development.

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In support of these goals is a range of activities and strategies, including retrofitting buildings to improve energy efficiency, promoting usage of mass transit, producing energy-efficient automobiles, increasing the use of wind or solar power, and developing and producing cellulosic biomass fuels5. The significant benefits of green economy activities are significant and described as both macroeconomic (e.g., investment in new technologies, greater productivity) and microeconomic (e.g., income growth, job growth)6. For instance, analysts concluded that renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies generated over 8 million new jobs and $970 billion in revenue in 2006 alone7.

At the heart of green economy activities is technology. That is, technological innovations are what drive the many activities that comprise the green economy. For example, clean energy technologies use the sun, wind, water, and plant matter to produce electricity, heat, and transportation fuel8. New green technology also spans a broad range of products, services and processes that lower performance costs, reduce or eliminate negative ecological impact, and improve the productive and responsible use of natural resources9. Thus, understanding the development and application of various green technologies can help to depict the potential workforce implications of green economy activities.

With the broader context of the green economy now delineated, the following section turns attention toward describing how occupations are influenced by this context. In this section, existing definitions of green jobs are reviewed and critiqued in an effort to better establish descriptive boundaries that are of practical use for occupational analysis. Special emphasis is given to the technologies that facilitate or enable the green economy activities discussed above.

The Green Economy10

The green economy encompasses the economic activity related to reducing the use of fossil fuels, decreasing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the efficiency of energy usage, recycling materials, and developing and adopting renewable sources of energy.

5 Pollin, R., & Wicks-Lim, J. (2008, June). Job Opportunities for the Green Economy: A State-by-State Picture of Occupations that Gain from Green Investments. Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts, Amherst http://www.bluegreenalliance.org/atf/cf/%7B3637E5F0-D0EA-46E7-BB32-

74D973EFF334%7D/NRDC_report_May28.pdf.6 U.S. Metro Economies, op cit.

7 Bezdek, R. (2007, November). Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency: Economic Drivers for the 21st Century. Management Information Services for the American Solar Energy Society. http://www.greenforall.org/resources/renewable-energy-and-energy-efficiency-economic

8 Massachusetts Clean Energy Industry Census. (2007, August). GlobalInsight. www.masstech.org

9 Clean Technology and the Green Economy: Growing Products, Services, Businesses, and Jobs in California’s Value Network

http://www.labor.ca.gov/panel/pdf/DRAFT_Green_Economy_031708.pdf

10 Greening of the World of Work: Implications for O*NET®-SOC and New and Emerging Occupations, pg 3 of 119

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The “greening” of occupations11

The “greening” of occupations refers to the extent to which green economy activities and technologies increase the demand for existing occupations, shape the work and worker requirements needed for occupational performance, or generate unique work and worker requirements.

Green Increased Demand Occupations. The impact of green economy activities and technologies is an increase in the employment demand for an existing occupation. However, this impact does not entail significant changes in the work and worker requirements of the occupation. The work context may change, but the tasks themselves do not.

Green Enhanced Skills OccupationsThe impact of green economy activities and technologies results in a significant change to the work and worker requirements of an existing O*NET-SOC occupation. This impact may or may not result in an increase in employment demand for the occupation. The essential purposes of the occupation remain the same, but tasks, skills, knowledge, and external elements, such as credentials, have been altered.

Green New and Emerging (N&E) Occupations. The impact of green economy activities and technologies is sufficient to create the need for unique work and worker requirements, which results in the generation of a new occupation relative to the O*NET taxonomy. This new occupation could be entirely novel or “born” from an existing occupation.

Major Green Economy Sectors12

Renewable Energy Generation This sector covers activities related to developing and using energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass. This sector also includes traditional, non-renewable sources of energy undergoing significant green technological changes (e.g., oil, coal, gas, and nuclear).

TransportationThis sector covers activities related to increasing efficiency and/or reducing environmental impact of various modes of transportation including trucking, mass transit, and freight rail.

11 Greening of the World of Work: Implications for O*NET®-SOC and New and Emerging Occupations, pg 4 of 11912 Greening of the World of Work: Implications for O*NET®-SOC and New and Emerging Occupations, pg 13 of 119

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Energy Efficiency This sector covers activities related to increasing energy efficiency (broadly defined), making energy demand response more effective, constructing "smart grids," and other energy efficient activities.

Green ConstructionThis sector covers activities related to constructing new green buildings, retrofitting residential and commercial buildings, and installing other green construction technology.

Energy Trading This sector covers financial services related to buying and selling energy as an economic commodity, as well as carbon trading projects.

Energy and Carbon CaptureThis sector covers activities related to capturing and storing energy and/or carbon emissions, as well as technologies related to power plants using the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technique.

Research, Design, and Consulting ServicesThis sector encompasses "indirect jobs" to the green economy which includes activities such as energy consulting or research and other related business services.

Environment ProtectionThis sector covers activities related to environmental remediation, climate change adaptation, and ensuring or enhancing air quality.

Agriculture and ForestryThis sector covers activities related to using natural pesticides, efficient land management or farming, and aquaculture.

ManufacturingThis sector covers activities related to industrial manufacturing of green technology as well as energy efficient manufacturing processes.

Recycling and Waste Reduction This sector covers activities related to solid waste and wastewater management, treatment, and reduction, as well as processing recyclable materials.

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Governmental and RegulatoryThis sector covers activities by public and private organizations associated with conservation and pollution prevention, regulation enforcement, and policy analysis and advocacy.

Summary13

To summarize, the term “green” is widely applied to a substantial variety of products, services, and even lifestyle and consumer choices. Many of these applications are hard to apply to occupation analysis or difficult for use in workforce development efforts.

Existing definitions of what comprises a “green job” are at a level of specificity that seems too molecular for occupational databases such as the O*NET database. Further, such definitions do not address the degree to which green economy activities differentially impact occupational requirements.

To address these issues, several definitions were presented. Considering the primary purpose of this report is to ascertain the implications of the green economy for existing and new and emerging O*NET occupations, definitions of the green economy and of the term occupation were presented. Next, a finer-grained definition that encompassed the impact of green economy activities and technologies on occupations was described.

This definition focused on the “greening” of occupations and included three categories that represented varying degrees of influence that the green economy holds for occupational performance. Finally, to facilitate an examination of how specific occupational greening might occur, a list of 12 green economy sectors was introduced.

13 Greening of the World of Work: Implications for O*NET®-SOC and New and Emerging Occupations, pg 14 of 119

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Legislative/Congressional directionBill Bill Description

HR 2454 American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009

S.1733 American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009

Rhode Island LegislativeSome of the most influential environmental legislation passed by the state has been enacted since the 2002 session.Public Law Chapter Bill Number Bill Information

Public Law Chapter Bill

NumberBill Description

2002    

62 S 3069 A Coastal and Estuary Habitat and Restoration Program/Trust

415 S 2444A Farm Home food manufacture

247 S 2227Aaa Local tax exemption for active farmland

186 H 7489A Updates to Brownfield’s Act

188 S 2813 Aaa

Lead Hazard Mitigation Act

420 S 2399A Outdoor Lighting Control

144 H 7786 Baa

Energy Restructuring Amendments

111 S 2740 B I-195 Redevelopment Act of 2002

329 H 7327 aa Storm water management Districts

Budget Article 6 $14 million for preservation and historic projects

 

2003    

124 S 1075 Aaa

Alternative Fueled Vehicles and filling stations tax credit

345 S 1187 East Providence Waterfront District

175 S 413 A Refuse Disposal, municipal demonstration projects

236 S 588 aa Urban Infrastructure Commission

   

2004    

203 S 3113 Narragansett Bays, Rivers, and Watersheds Coordination Team

454 H 7161 aa Dredge material as landfill cover

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23 H 7863 Employer Transportation Service Charge

388 S 2656 A Human Resources Investment Council

199 S 2082 A Renewable Energy Standard

366 H 7354 RI Resource Recovery Mission statement

145 S 3028 A Marine Resources Development Plan

144 S 3027 A Watershed and Marine Monitoring Act

159 S 3026 A Watershed Based management

   

2005    

146 S 540 A Energy and Consumer Savings Act

291 S 770 A Eliminate MTBE as Gasoline Additive

70 S 611 Aaa Mercury Reduction Act (switches)

258 S 866 A Beneficial Reuse of Solid Waste (Cranston)

281 S 39 A Renewable Energy Products tax exemption

   

2006    

557 H 7756 Aaa 

Anti Idling Act

244 S 2498Baa Biodiesel Fuel

409 S 3157 Biotechnology Investment Tax Credit

365 S 2509 Aaa

Electronic Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling Act

237 S 2903Baa Energy Conservation, Efficiency and Affordability Act

321 S 2502 B Cumulative Impacts

535 S 2338 Greenhouses Tax exemption

250 S 3113 Industrial Remediation- Major revisions

233 S 2701 aa Beneficial Reuse of Solid Waste (all municipalities)

254 S 2997 aa Science and Technology Advisory Council

649 S 2497 Aaa

Preservation of Open Space

177 S 2844 Aaa 

Energy and Consumer Savings Act

   

2007

444 S 244Aaa Promotion of recycling plastic bags

219 S 566 A Diesel Emissions Reduction Act

173 H 5566 B Net Metering

119 S 943 B Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

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440 S 231 aa Renewable Energy Plan

233 S 1144 Cesspool Phase Out Act

2009

S 0232B The Green Buildings Act

H 5355 The Green Buildings Act

S0232 Aaa The Green Buildings Act

This list is not intended to be a definitive and complete inventory of all environmental laws the state has passed in the last five years- some important pieces of legislation may be absent, and the degree to which each act listed relates to the environment varies. Nevertheless; the list visibly illustrates how busy the General Assembly has been in recent years in protecting and promoting Rhode Island’s environmental quality.

The Administration has played its part as well; among other important accomplishments, in recent years, it has:

Engaged Rhode Island as a partner in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.14

Issued an Executive Order stating that all new state building projects (and those undergoing significant renovation) must attain LEED certification.15

Issued an Executive Order requiring all new state vehicles to be powered by alternative fuels or be hybrid electric vehicles.16

Proposed increasing the state’s goal for total renewable energy generation from15 percent by 2014 to 20 percent by the year 2011.17

Each law and executive order listed represents a crucial step in the right direction for the state of Rhode Island. No matter how passionate a citizenry is, good intentions and ideas cannot effect positive change without strong leadership from a state’s elected officials. While there is always room for improvement, the efforts of Rhode Island’s leaders to protect environmental quality in the state are commendable and have resulted in a much cleaner and greener Ocean State.

Providence

In 2005, Mayor Cicilline signed the US Conference of Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement, making Providence a “Cool City and committing Providence to: meet or beat the Kyoto Protocol targets; urge state and federal government to meet or beat the Kyoto reduction target; and urge the U.S. Congress to pass the bipartisan greenhouse gas reduction legislation18.

Providence is a member of ICLEI’s Cities for Climate Protection Campaign; an association that assists local governments creates environmental solutions. Providence is also a part of the New England Cities Project, a coalition of nine 14 http://www.pewclimate.org/what_s_being_done/in_the_states/late06early07.cfm15 http://www.aia.org/adv_sus_greenbldg50stateexecutiveorders16 http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/progs/state_summary.cgi?afdc/RI17 http://www.ri.gov/GOVERNOR/view.php?id=266218 Green Print Providence, pg 3&4

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New England cities that committed to curb greenhouse gas emissions, and will receive technical assistance to meet their goals. In 2008, Providence joined the US Green Building’s Council, the organization that oversees the LEED accreditation program.

On September 27, 2008, the Mayor joined nearly700 communities across the country by signing the “Green Jobs Now petition, calling for a national commitment to developing a green collar economy.

Providence acknowledges the direct threat that climate change poses to our community. In addition to prevention, we are enacting climate protection measures because of the economic and environmental benefits that reducing energy consumption will bring. Through our efforts, we will ensure better air quality, create new jobs, increase savings, and help preserve and improve Providence’s high quality of life.

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Appendix A

About Sustainable Rhode IslandIn 2001 the Rhode Island Sustainability Coalition brought together more than 50 organizations and individuals with the vision of transforming Rhode Island into the nation's first "Sustainable State." The Coalition's main goal was to create a future in which the principles of sustainability guide a shifting of resources to find solutions to the root causes of problems. This will allow for sustainable development to become the basis for all future policies. Using Rhode Island's size to its advantage, the Coalition set out to transform this state to serve as a model for the rest of the nation. Between 2001 and 2003, Coalition members launched 8 distinct sustainability initiatives throughout the state, using a strategic inter-disciplinary approach to maximize resources, streamline activities, accelerate work, and eliminate duplication of efforts.

Over the last year, Coalition members have been developing a consensus visioning document that articulates what a Sustainable Rhode Island will look like. Building upon practical and proven solutions from a global network striving to integrate sustainability principles into their governments, businesses, schools, churches, communities, unions and homes, members have created a new paradigm for living to brings us in greater alignment with earth's natural systems. This document is the shared vision of these Rhode Islanders for a healthy state. This document is a step, a snapshot of the moment trying to dream the best possible future for a healthy state.

While these are lofty goals, it is important to remember the problems we now face took decades to be created. 2-3 year short-term projects without the context of a long term strategy will never create lasting change that will actually solve problems. Short term solutions settle for incremental change and force us constantly to respond to new problems that spring up as quickly as old ones are addressed. It also forces us to work with a crisis management mentality: not the optimal way to choose your long term direction. We need to have a long term vision in mind when doing the short term work if we ever hope to solve our most pressing current problems.

Rather than reinvent the wheel, this project's intent was to stand on the shoulders of, and incorporate all the work on finding solutions that ensure a healthier and more equitable and peaceful future that have been done to date. We have used existing documents like: Visions for Sustainable America; Sustainable US 2100, The Earth Pledge, the Hanover Principles, The Union of Concerned Scientists Priority Actions for the Earth, and Cape Cod Sustainability Indicators. In addition, we have researched what is going on in this state, across the country, and around the world to see how other communities respond to these problems.

This document in broken up into sections that each address a basic or major life need for Rhode Islanders. These sections are divided with an eye toward existing state agencies and organizations that are already immersed in these fields and are likely candidates to develop each section and take leadership in steering future policies towards directions that are outlined. Each section contains:

Ideal Vision - Vision is a creation of the future you wish to manifest. Ideally, it should be the anchor, and all short term goals and actions should lead

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to the fulfillment of the larger long term vision. Visioning is an opportunity to step back from reaction and response, and design a whole new system. We tried to paint a broad picture of what a sustainable system for each area would look like in Rhode Island , but ground it specifics, when possible, by citing specific technologies and examples of things that already being used today.

Key Strategies & Indicators - We tried to strip the vision down to its essence and develop broad strategies that would drive smaller projects to the eventual fulfillment of the larger vision. Here our focus was on core issues, systemic change, and/or major directions of focus in their simplest forms.

Indicators - When possible we wanted to identify quantifiable indicators that could be used to measure progress.

Goals & Actions - we've begun compiling a list of ideas, some are already being done, others are untested so far, that will begin leading towards the fulfillment of the vision.

Key Players - these are people or organization identified as important participants each area.

Because our goal was to have a usable document, we consistently favored brevity and simplicity to make a document that is easily readable and can quickly be referenced. This document is a work in progress, and should be updated regularly, allowing the best ideas to be quickly brought forth. We welcome your participation and feedback in helping create a vision we can ALL be excited about.

A sustainable Rhode Island is a prosperous Rhode Island. In a sustainable Rhode Island, goods will be sold at prices that reflect their real life-cycle costs - disposal as well as manufacturing. Industrial design will be based on closed-loop systems in imitation of nature, where the waste products from one industry become the feedstock of the next. Instead of waste, the by-products of one manufacturing process will be viewed as valuable raw materials to another. Eco-Industrial parks, where strategic business siting allows the closing of this loop, will become more common at places like the Central Landfill and Quonset Industrial park. Wasted heat from industrial processes will be used to heat nearby homes and workspaces.

When possible, industrial production will use local materials to meet local needs, and process wastes locally. Local production will dramatically reduce transportation costs, helping to compensate for sometimes higher production costs. It will also make communities directly aware of the environmental impacts of production and consumption. The costs of waste disposal will not be shifted elsewhere.

Industries will be part of a community. Many will be owned by the workers they employ and the people whose needs they meet. Rather than simply trying to maximize returns to shareholders, industries will strive to provide healthy, safe, secure and fulfilling working conditions for workers.

A sustainable Rhode Island is prosperous for its citizens as well as its businesses. Well established job training programs will provide clear paths to

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career goals, and employers will invest in improving the skills and abilities of their employees. A secure social safety net will allow individuals to take risks - marketing new inventions and opening new businesses - that were not possible in another regime. The result will be an economy resilient against the buffeting of the global economy, with a secure base of jobs and businesses, and the people who create and work in them.

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Appendix BCalifornia’s Working Definition Of The Green Economy

May 2009Green or clean is any activity or service that performs at least one of the following: Generating and storing renewable energy Recycling existing materials Energy efficient product manufacturing, distribution, construction, installation, and maintenance Education, compliance and awareness Natural and sustainable product manufacturing Generating and storing renewable energy - Includes alternative energy generated by, but not limited to:

• Wind • Solar • Water • Biofuels • Biomass • Hydrogen fuel cells • Geothermal

Recycling existing materials - Corporations involved in the collection and processing of recyclable materials, including firms running a recycling or wastewater plant. Includes environmental clean-up and remediation (does not include companies that provide bins for recyclable paper, glass, and cans). Energy efficient product manufacturing, distribution, construction, installation, and maintenance -- This includes companies involved in the research, development, and manufacturing of products such as solar panels, energy efficient light bulbs, and vehicles. It also includes construction companies that install and repair these products in new or existing residential or commercial real estate, as well as real estate planning and land development. Education, compliance, and awareness -- This sector includes: Training providers for curricula such as solar panel installation, energy auditing, sustainability management, and environmental careers.

• Environmental consulting • Governmental/legislative compliance • Conservation and wildlife programs • Trading and offsets • Social assistance

Natural and sustainable product manufacturing -- Includes companies that create products using natural materials. Also includes businesses that produce safe, nontoxic products; bamboo products; products out of previously-recycled materials, and agricultural firms that practice sustainable farming.

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Sustainable business practices might include (but not limited to) entities that have adopted renewable energy, efficiency and conservation strategies.

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