Reports & Research
Our hit list of policies, programs and research related to green-collar jobs from around the country.
Our hit list of reports and research related to green-collar jobs. Do you know of something that should be listed here? Email us at clearinghouse@greenforall.org
A State-By-State Picture Of Occupations That Gain From Green Investments
A new report by the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) of University of Massachusetts, Amherst, provides a snapshot of what kinds of jobs are needed to build a green economy in the United States. In Job Opportunities for the Green Economy, PERI focuses on six key strategies for attacking global warming and highlight some of the major “green jobs” associated with each of these approaches. The six green strategies examined are: building retrofitting, mass transit, energy-efficient automobiles, wind power, solar power, and cellulosic biomass fuels.
Global Green Jobs
This article, published in Foreign Policy in Focus, describes how to frame green-collar jobs on the national and international level to contradict the "jobs vs. the environment" mentality and promote the principle that we need to build a green economy strong and equitable enough to lift people out of poverty and into prosperity.
Green-Collar Jobs in America’s Cities
New publication outlines strategies for developing green-collar job initiatives and pathways out of poverty at the local level. Co-authored by Green For All, this report describes a 4-step approach for local initiatives and highlights a dozen great efforts already underway around the country.
Greener Pathways: Jobs and Workforce Development in the Clean Energy Economy
This new report details current economic and workforce development opportunities in three leading industries: energy efficiency, wind, and biofuels. It talks about the specific kinds of jobs in the clean energy economy, the skills needed to fill these jobs, and how existing businesses and their workers can move to the center of the clean energy economy. The report also examines federal resources that can support state green jobs initiatives, and concludes by outlining a plan of action for state policymakers.
An Analysis of the Capacity of Green Businesses to Provide High Quality Jobs for Men and Women with Barriers to Employment: A Case Study of Berkeley, California, by Raquel Pinderhughes.
This unique study involved extensive interviews with green-collar employers in the San Francisco Bay Area. The report explores the potential for green collar jobs to provide low-income men and women with high-quality, community serving jobs in the fast expanding green sector. The City of Berkeley commissioned the report. Raquel Pinderhughes is a professor of Urban Studies at San Francisco State University.
Seizing the Opportunity (For Climate, Jobs and Equity) in Building Energy Efficiency, by Joel Rogers
Buildings consume a larger share of energy than cars or industry and are responsible for more GHG emissions. They're also grossly inefficient. So why not make them more efficient, and get the capital needed to do so from those expected savings? People have had this thought for a long time. This paper explains why it hasn't happened yet, and how to fix that.. Joel Rogers is Professor of Law, Political Science and Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, director of the Center on Wisconsin Strategy and the Center for State Innovation.
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency: Economic Drivers for the 21st Century, by Roger Bezdek
Report on a comprehensive study by the American Solar Energy Society on the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries. Includes definitions of the industries, estimates on size and composition, and a forecast of the industries' growth to 2030 under three scenarios. Discusses potential for great economic benefit assuming support for growth of these sectors in regulations and policy.
Growing Green Collar Jobs: Energy Efficiency, by Jack Dafoe
The first in a series of reports prepared by Urban Agenda for New York City Apollo Alliance on green-collar jobs as pathways out of poverty and toward a greener city. This report focuses on improving energy efficiency in existing buildings, "one of the largest, fastest growing, and most promising green sectors for New York City."
DC Green Collar Jobs Initiative, by Bracken Hendricks and Benjamin Goldstein
The Center for American Progress is supporting a green-collar jobs initiative in Washington D.C. and developed this piece as guidance and background for policy makers.
Summary of Research on the Job Creating Potential of Renewable Energy, by Aaron Lehmer
A brief summary of recent research compiled by Aaron Lehmer of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, showing how renewable energy creates more jobs than fossil fuels.
Information on the Oakland Green Jobs Corps
A four-page concept paper outlining a possible model for the Oakland Green Jobs Corps - a prospective job-training program for Oakland residents with barriers to employment. The Oakland Apollo Alliance campaigned for city funding for this initiative (but will not be actually running the program). The Oakland Green Jobs Corps is expected to launch in the latter half of 2008.
Green Cities, Green Jobs, by Joanna Lee, Angela Bowden, and Jennifer Ito
The Los Angeles Apollo Alliance has been working to create an innovative solution to address these environmental and economic challenges. We have proposed that one of the first solutions is through “greening” Los Angeles’ deteriorating infrastructure.
Milwaukee Retrofit: Capturing Home Energy Savings in Milwaukee
This piece outlines an approach to improve inefficient buildings, at once saving property owners money, reducing demand for coal-generated electricity, and providing both skilled and unskilled work for local contractors and their employees. Milwaukee Energy Efficiency (ME2) is an innovative program of the Center on Wisconsin Strategy that will allow small-property owners and even renters to use a process similar to performance contracting in order to achieve energy savings. Property owners or renters (with landlords' cooperation) would receive an audit listing conservation measures that could be paid for out of energy savings in a given period. They would repay the cost of the measures via their energy-utility bill.
Training Policy In Brief: An Overview of Federal Workforce Development Policies, 2nd Edition, by Gwen Rubinstein and Andrea Mayo
A briefing book by The Workforce Alliance on key federal policies and programs funding workforce development in the United States. Includes 13 chapters on 16 federal programs that provide significant support to training and education in the United States. A useful reference for policy makers and advocates doing anything related to workforce development.
The Economic Development Potential of the Green Sector, by Paul M. Ong and Rita Varisa Patraporn
Policy recommendations on establishing a regional green economy to meet the growing demand for green jobs and services. Establishes guidelines in promoting economic development, supporting a region in becoming more environmentally sound, and strengthening economic equity by including disadvantaged populations in the green work force.
Job Implications in Los Angeles' Green Building Sector, by Sigalle Rosner
Presents an analysis of workforce development opportunities in the green building sector in Los Angeles, from an urban planning viewpoint. Focuses on recommendations for including low-income communities of color into the green building job force.
Jobs in LA's Green Technology Sector, by Patrick Burns and Daniel Flaming
An exploration of the green job trends and opportunities in L.A. This report by the Economic Roundtable uses government NAICS codes to produce data on green technology jobs. The study asks which green technology industries in L.A. (a) already employ 500 or more people, (b) are growing or stable, and (c) pay average monthly wages of $2,500 or more. The City of Los Angeles and the L.A. Department of Water and Power commissioned the study.
