Guest Blog: Green jobs from the bottom up

By guest blogger Jill Palermo, Co-Founder of We Add Up, the organic t-shirt campaign that counts you in to help stop climate change. Within 18 months of launching, We Add Up has counted in over 12,000 people, been endorsed by Al Gore, and has been voted a Top 10 Green Business of the Year through Green America’s People’s Choice Award.

Are you as excited about the promise of green jobs as I am?

Jobs are coming our way that pay a living wage, provide opportunity for advancement, and contribute to our sustainable future. I was reminded of the intense urgency of the climate crisis while watching Earth 2100 on ABC Tuesday night. The visuals brought into sharper focus a message we’ve all heard a hundred times and, for me, made it all the more real.

To be sure, large companies will need to play a leading role in helping limit the impact of dangerous climate change and stop its accelerating progression. As Van Jones says, we can’t burn and drill our way out. We need to innovate and invest our way through. While we need to continue to vigorously campaign for the right combination of regulations, lending, and subsidies that will stimulate green business, we don't need to simply wait around for a solar plant to be built down the street to offer us a job that is green. We can create one for ourselves.

What always strikes me about the green sector is how it is constantly changing and growing. Like a newly self-aware young adult, we are in a period of self-definition and every single person has the opportunity right now to contribute to what a green business is, does, and who it serves. Nothing about “green business as usual” is set in stone and this has the effect of leveling the playing field. Regardless of age, experience, or funding, every person has the opportunity to ask, “How can I contribute my unique voice, perspective, and passion in helping build a more sustainable world?”

When I attend green business conferences and expos, one thing is guaranteed: I will meet at least a handful of people who’ve created careers that I’ve never heard of before. For example, Greener Senior was created by a woman who wanted to help older folks get organized and save money on energy efficiency. Or, Mr. Ellie Pooh’s specialty papers made out of elephant dung were created to support villages in Sri Lanka and save the elephants. Truly novel creations where mission, impact, and product or service add up to good business.

Whether you are ready to strike out on your own and start your own green business or you want to stay in your current job, this idea still applies. Be a part of the ‘bottom-up’ revolution and inspire or demand change from within your company. Offer reusable mugs instead of Styrofoam or plastic cups for coffee. Start an E-waste recycling program. Explore starting a carpool program -- many people would love to save on gas now. Choose a local environmental issue to ‘adopt.’ Get together with other forward-thinking co-workers and brainstorm ways your company can offer more to the planet and your local community. So even if you don’t work for a ‘green’ business, be open to the idea that YOU can start an internal movement that can inspire grassroots change.

I firmly believe that our energy and environmental needs will soon be seen to be so acute that green jobs and green business will be the norm and not the exception. But it’s not going to happen magically or overnight. Each one of us can play a role in ushering in this era. Now is the perfect time to keep your eyes open and be on the lookout for needs you can fill and perhaps even make a great career out of it. You can contribute to this work in progress!