Finding a Sustainable, Green, Career

Finding a Sustainable, Green, Career

Going green is a relatively new practice, and many employers are now interested in ensuring that they are doing everything that they can to be sustainable. So what does this mean to you, the student or new graduate? If you would like to look for new and emerging career possibilities in sustainability or the environment, a green career may be for you. So what exactly is a green career? According to ECO Canada (eco.ca), a green job, or career, is employment that contributes to preserving or restoring the quality of the environment.

Working for a green organization ensures that their products or services are created to minimize as much as an environmental impact as possible. According to ECO Canada (eco.ca), by 2020 there will be an estimated one million jobs (currently there are only 508,000 jobs) created to address the need of sustainability. These fields include:

• Renewable energy and energy efficiency/conservation
• Wind/Solar Powered Energy
• Construction of buildings
• Alternative Transportation
• Waste management and recycling

What are some skills needed to work a green career? Students and new graduates need to adopt green skills or focus on specific knowledge areas, such as the ability to adapt to change, and emerging sustainable development practices. According to talentegg.ca, the following skills and knowledge are currently in demand by the green industry:

• Communication and critical thinking
• Marketing
• Public Relations
• Engineering
• Reducing environmental impact
• Remediation and treatment of the environment

There are some key terms that you may want to be familiar with if you would like to work in this field, such as:

• Green Economy – All activity that intends of reducing conventional levels of resources (consumption, emissions, environmental impact, etc.)

• Green Organization – An organization whose goods or services created or provided are designed to minimize the impact on the environment

• Green Skills – The knowledge, training, or experience that relate to technologies that can minimize the impact on the environment

Next week SFU is hosting its Sustainability Opportunities Week (January 28 - February 1), where you have a chance to explore the education, research, career and community engagement opportunities in the area of sustainability. Visit them here.

To learn more about the Green Industry, visit TalentEgg.ca’s Green Jobs Career Guide here!