Demand for Green Buildings Exceeds Workforce Supply

Maggie Comstock
Policy Analyst
U.S. Green Building Council

This morning, McGraw-Hill Construction (MHC) released its latest SmartMarket Report, “Construction Industry Workforce Shortages: Role of Certification, Training and Green Jobs in Filling the Gaps.” The report, sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council and the American Institute of Architects with support from other contributing partners, finds that 69 percent of architect, engineer and contractor professionals expect there to be a shortage of skilled labor in the next three years. With the rapidly increasing demand for green buildings, industry professionals are concerned that the supply of skilled workforce cannot keep up with the demand. While having more jobs than people to fill them seems like a good problem to have in today’s economy, the shortage cannot be trivialized.

Green building design and construction, defined by MHC as LEED or comparable sustainable construction standards, account for nearly a third of the design and construction workforce, supporting nearly 650,000 jobs. The report estimates that this figure will increase to half of the design and construction workforce by 2014.

Training programs and professional credentials are bridging the skilled workforce gap. An MHC survey of architect, engineer and contractor firms revealed that 71 percent of firms considered professional credentials as a boost to their competitiveness. 75 percent of individuals surveyed believe that having a professional credential, including LEED Green Associate or AP, brought them more job opportunities.

Building an Inclusive Economy: Green Building Construction Supports Green Jobs for All

Maggie Comstock
Associate, Policy
U.S. Green Building Council

Buzz words and hot topics come and go, but “green jobs” are here to stay. In a recovering economy, jobs remain a top priority for our leaders and the Americans they represent. Green building jobs represent a bright light in the recovery process, because these are long-term, high-quality jobs for the future. As the economy rebounds, there are employment needs at all levels of the proverbial “career ladder.” Green building fills the billet by supporting jobs at all professional and skill levels. Through the demand for LEED, energy and resource efficient buildings, and healthy, safe schools for our children, we are building an inclusive economy with green jobs for all. The third regional Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference kicks off today in Philadelphia as a diverse group of stakeholders convene in support of good, green jobs.

Green building construction is supports jobs in a range of occupations. Booz Allen Hamilton estimates that from 2009-2013 the green building industry will support 8 million jobs throughout the economy, from “construction managers and carpenters to truck drivers and cost estimators.” These jobs will provide $396 billion in labor earnings and will generate an additional $554 billion in GDP. Just as all parts of an ecosystem are indispensible, ALL of the jobs in the green building supply chain are crucial to the functioning of the industry and economy.

USGBC and AIA Accomplish Shared Goals for 2011

Maggie Comstock
Associate, Policy
U.S. Green Building Council

Last week, hundreds of architects stormed Washington as part of the American Institute of Architects’ annual Grassroots Leadership and Legislative Conference. Grassroots serves as a forum to convene AIA’s extensive local chapter network, with which USGBC’s local chapters often collaborate. Partnerships are the primary tools in any advocacy organization’s tool belt; however, the ongoing collaboration between the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) goes far beyond the average partnership.

USGBC and AIA are natural allies in the green building arena. Over the years, our shared goals for a sustainable built environment have fostered a rich and robust collaboration. This relationship has led to successful outcomes on far too many occasions to name, but here are some of the most notable achievements from 2011.

While Pundits Debate Green Jobs, We’re Busy Putting America Back to Work

Maggie Comstock
Associate, Policy
U.S. Green Building Council

Even though I live in D.C., I often wonder, “What is Congress even fighting over?” It seems like everyone else in the country is asking the same question. This is especially true when our elected officials endlessly debate “jobs.” Aren’t jobs universally supported? Why would anyone be against putting Americans back to work, especially in the industries we know we need to remain competitive? How can everything simultaneously “create millions of jobs” and still be a “job killer”?

Chicago Can Share Best Practices for a Green Economy

Doug Widener
Executive Director
USGBC Illinois Chapter

Rio +20 presents an opportunity for cities to listen, learn, and forge pathways for a more sustainable built environment

Chicago: Home of the Cubs, the Blues Brothers, deep-dish pizza, and more LEED-certified municipal buildings than any other city in the U.S.(Not to mention Chicago ranks #1 in total square footage of LEED space, and the entire state of Illinois ranks third in the country on a per-capita basis).

Surprised? Chicago is known internationally for its iconic culinary delights, arts, culture and landmarks; less so for its leadership in sustainability. This week, I joined a group of businesses and city officials in an effort to change all that - because when it comes to talking about the Green Economy, Chicago has a lot to say.

An America Built to Last: The Five Wins for Green Buildings in the SOTU

Maggie Comstock
Associate, Policy
U.S. Green Building Council

This week I watched the President’s State of the Union address with a notepad of buzzwords ready to take down some tallies. I’m certainly not the only person who keeps track keywords mentioned by the President in his annual speech. Not surprisingly, the President mentioned “jobs” more than 40 times in the 90 minute speech. I was also pleased that he referenced “energy” 20 times. Keeping track of my favorite hot topics became overwhelming only 30 minutes in, but in this case, too much of a good thing is a good thing.

I’m going to take some artistic license with the President’s SOTU title and emphasize the word “built.” Everything that we do to promote a sustainable built environment supports the long-term economic and environmental health of the nation. We cannot support our society if we deplete our natural resources at an unsustainable rate. We cannot maintain economic prosperity and resiliency without long-term, high quality jobs.

The Promise of the Green Economy: Strengthening the Economy While Protecting the Environment

Maggie Comstock
Associate, Policy
U.S. Green Building Council

The author of an article posted yesterday on CNN couldn’t be further embedded in the spin zone he arguably says he’s trying to debunk. In his opening line, the author, Steve Hargreaves, wrote, “The tactic du jour for environmentalists trying to sell a skeptical public on tighter regulations is this: spin the thing as a job creator.”

If you want to substantively get into a discussion on driving job creation, it won’t be long before you’re talking about green jobs. Green building is Exhibit A. In hundreds of communities across the country, green building is strengthening the local economy and creating jobs. Unfortunately, Hargreaves, with his clear predisposition, and others, work tireless to further politicize the established economic benefit of clean energy solutions. Interestingly, these economic opportunities, and green building in particular, are rooted in energy conservation and fiscal responsibility —basically prudent spending of taxpayer dollars to build healthy schools for our children or energy-conserving hospitals that provide a significant return on investment through significant energy and water savings. And from Kentucky to Ohio, Florida to California, we are seeing very diverse political stakeholders advance these opportunities simply because they are smart financial decisions (and wholly apolitical).

For starters, let’s look at a study by the Pew Charitable Trust which reports that the clean energy and green economy sector is the fastest growing job sector, producing twice as many jobs as the sectoral average between 1998 and 2007. A 2009 Booz Allen Hamilton study estimates that by 2013, the green building industry will create 8 million jobs in a range of occupations including construction managers, carpenters, electricians, architects, truck drivers and cost estimators, among many others. Today, McGraw Hill Construction estimates that green construction supports 660,000 jobs, which represents a third of the green design and construction industry. The McGraw Hill Construction study uses a very narrow definition of green jobs which is limited to workers who spend more than 50 percent of their time on green projects or designing and installing green systems, this excludes administrative professionals and manufacturing, production or transportation-related services. This sector only has potential to grow. And this number is only likely to grow with support and investment from both the public and private sectors. A prominent report from McKinsey & Company reveals that energy efficiency improvements in the residential and commercial sectors could create 600,000 to 900,000 stable and on-going jobs. The job creation potential of building energy efficiency could be increased by 114,000 jobs through the President’s Better Buildings Initiative, with the greatest proportion of jobs (over 77,0000) coming from a revised tax incentive for commercial retrofits, also known as 179D (see joint report "A New Retrofit Industry").

Simply, green jobs are win-win. The green building retrofit jobs that President Obama and President Clinton have worked to encourage are new jobs that can’t be outsourced. And in addition, green jobs have the added benefit of creating healthier communities, protecting the planet, and fostering a globally competitive workforce. Thus, the CNN article, which compares the jobs created by the potential Keystone XL pipeline to environmental jobs, sets up a false choice. We have long shown unequivocally that we can advance our economic prosperity without compromising the protection of our environment.

Ultimately, we shouldn’t allow green jobs to be a political punching bag (like Congressman Issa’s hearings as Chair of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform). We need to fight back against the slander. Get involved in advocacy for green buildings and green jobs. Tell Congress what we want, because, after all, they’re supposed represent us, right?

“IN A TOUGH ECONOMY, IT’S A REALLY BAD IDEA TO SET FIRE TO MONEY. THAT’S PRETTY MUCH WHAT WE DO WHEN WE WASTE ENERGY.”

Maggie Comstock
Associate, Policy
U.S. Green Building Council

The Role of Energy Efficiency

Now that I have your attention, I will admit that this metaphor is not an original of my own, but rather a provocative and common sense remark made by Peter Molinaro, Vice President of U.S. Government Affairs at the Dow Chemical Company, during a Capitol Hill briefing yesterday on energy efficiency jobs.

Monday, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition hosted a Congressional briefing on the “Economic Impacts of Energy Efficiency Policies and Investments.” An expert panel, including the aforementioned Peter Molinaro; Harvey Bernstein, Vice President of Industry Insights and Alliances at McGraw Hill Construction; Kevin Crawford, Senior Vice President of Orion Energy Systems; Malcolm Woolf, Director of the Maryland Energy Administration and Chair of the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO); and Paul Hamilton, Vice President of Government Affairs, addressed a full room about the role of energy efficiency in job creation and economic recovery.

In an economy where construction activities, and consequently jobs, are at an all time low, green construction has maintained its level of economic activity and has even increased in many sectors from 2008 levels. These figures come from the findings of McGraw Hill Construction’s latest research venture on the green building construction, which revealed that the green building market supports 661,000 jobs in the U.S. and represents a third of the design and construction workforce.

In addition to the employment benefits of green building and energy efficiency, let’s think about its effect on American consumers: “The average American household spends $2175 a year on home heating, cooling and electricity. Over $5000 if you add the cost of transportation,” according to Molinaro. He continued, “If we can get every household in America to save 10%, that’s $25 billion available for other things…If we can save 30%, eminently doable with existing technology, that’s $74 billion in additional discretionary spending.”

The facts and figures are clear and real. Energy efficiency is a growing industry with astronomical potential. Energy efficiency supports both job creation and workforce transformation within a rapidly globalizing economy, allowing the U.S. to maintain international competitiveness. Paul Hamilton of Schneider Electric included a graph in his presentation with the caveat that energy management and the goals of energy efficiency support a “food chain of jobs.” And Molinaro reminded us of how this discussion is more timely and pertinent than ever. The “Occupy Movement” nationwide is concerned with the ever-widening income disparity between classes in the U.S. Energy efficiency is an opportunity to rebuild the middle class and put Americans back to work.

The speakers add that the low-hanging fruit of energy efficiency is often overlooked as a financial opportunity by consumers. Government policies and incentives are critical to supporting this sector, and no, that does not mean subsidies!! We need policies that remove barriers for innovative private sector finance, such as Property Assessed Clean Energy or PACE, and policies that facilitate data access and transparency. Training and certification programs are also essential to transforming the existing workforce and assisting our students and recent graduates to find a competitive job.

Harvey Bernstein had a final remark that resonated with me, “We are on the verge of another Industrial Revolution.” If the prospect of continued rapid global population growth and resource scarcity is not enough to prompt you to action, how about something closer to home? In a tough economy, why are we setting fire to money when energy efficiency can help alleviate unemployment, rebuild the U.S. economy and restore our global competitiveness?

More information on the briefing and the individual presentations can be found on EESI’s website »

“Green Jobs” Versus “Jobs”? – It’s Not a Competition; They’re One in the Same

Maggie Comstock
Associate, Policy
U.S. Green Building Council

On Oct. 26, USGBC participated in a salon on green jobs and economic growth, hosted by Planet Forward. The high-level discussion included U.S. government representatives from several agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, Department of Defense, Department of Labor, and more. Private sector interests, local government representatives and non-profit organizations were also present. The overarching themes of the roundtable were:

• Where are the jobs in the clean energy economy?
• How should we frame this movement to further promote green jobs?

It’s hard to define a green job when they represent so much more than the clean energy sector. Recycling, waste management, storm water management, water conservation, energy efficiency, sustainable manufacturing processes, green construction, etc.—it’s not hard to expand this list of diverse professions that employ Americans in all regions and of all skill sets.

If you haven’t noticed, everyone is “going green” these days. And the bottom line is that green buildings, sustainability, energy efficiency, and the whole gamut of emerging and existing industries are creating jobs and transforming the existing workforce. We need to stop fighting over what color these jobs may be and have our politicians support industries that are proven winners in this economy.

Call it what you may—green jobs or just jobs—the bottom line is that green building and sustainability are bolstering national employment figures and stabilizing the economy. For now we’ll continue to differentiate them as green jobs, but soon, as the economy continues to accept sustainability and “green” as the norm, we hope to just call them jobs.

Resources:
Energy Efficiency Financing Could Create Over One Million American Jobs »
Growing Green Building Market Supports 661,000 Green Jobs in the U.S. »

Green Jobs Summit at Greenbuild 2011 Calls for Mobilization around this Common Sense Economic Solution

Maggie Comstock
Associate, Policy
U.S. Green Building Council

The hustle and bustle of Greenbuild 2011 is now behind us, and we’ve all returned to our respective homes and jobs to continue “troublemaking.”

And one area where we need to continue to stir the pot is green jobs. On the Tuesday of Greenbuild, we convened a Green Jobs Summit of more than 40 prominent experts throughout the clean energy economy to brainstorm the successes and challenges experienced in the promotion of the green jobs agenda.

The Opening Session of the Summit highlighted several keynote speakers who represented a range of stakeholders, including Ken Neumann, National Director of Canada for the United Steelworkers, Bob Peck, Public Buildings Service Commissioner at the U.S. General Services Administration, and Dan Esty, Commissioner at the State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. They each outlined the successes to date that they have observed in their respective roles, and also the opportunities for further action.

The eight breakout sessions illustrated that all professionals have a role in this movement. Whether you work locally or globally, in tech or communications, as a skilled laborer or a financial executive, the Green Jobs Summit demonstrated the uniquely important roles of all of these stakeholders. View the session topics and speakers here.

Eco-entrepreneur Majora Carter capped the Summit with an inspirational and motivational call to action. By expertly weaving her personal experiences and “ah ha” moments into her greater message, each attendee internalized her amazing life story and realized that they too could do more, be more and affect real change.

Yes, “green jobs” is a nebulous term (even a flashpoint in certain circles where hanging on to the status quo, old economy jobs, is a full time job in and of itself), but we troublemakers can all agree on this: No matter your job description, professional level or geographic location, YOU contribute to this important movement. YOU are the living proof that green jobs are real and thriving. YOU are the champions for change in our government and beyond.

Though the Summit is over (until next year), green jobs remain perpetually topical and timely. The President’s American Jobs Act outlines a plan for rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure and modernizing America’s underperforming schools. These campaigns would create hundreds of thousands of jobs and underline the importance of energy conservation in supporting the economic bottom line. Read more about how the American Jobs Act affects the green building and energy efficiency sector on our website.

Visit the USGBC Green Jobs website for resources and information on the role of green buildings in job creation and economic growth. Also view the recent McGraw-Hill Construction study which revealed that the green building market supports 661,000 green jobs in the U.S.!

We need to work together to underscore that all jobs are critical in our current economy, but green jobs are also about the future — both literally, in terms of new technologies that define our movement, and in the broader view terms of what’s next for our society and our planet. Given our troublemaker status, we’re the best group of all to move this critical agenda forward.