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.

Making Charter Schools More Efficient Garners Bi-Partisan Support but Suffers Setback

Bryan Howard
Legislative Director
U.S. Green Building Council

While many in the green schools movement have been focusing on President Obama’s “American Jobs Act” that would allocate $25 billion for school modernization, Tuesday brought a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives to improve the resource efficiency of America’s charters schools.

As part of the debate on H.R. 2118: Empowering Parents through Quality Charter Schools Act, which reauthorizes and modifies federal charter programs, Congressman Rush Holt of New Jersey offered a common sense amendment, to give priority to facility grant recipients that utilize green building rating systems and certifications.



Congressman Holt’s amendment received the support of a bipartisan group of legislators from all across the country but did not have the votes needed to be adopted. To see how your member of Congress voted click here.

It can be discouraging that some members of Congress are still not translating the benefits of reduced operating expenses, enhanced learning environments and increased accountability of taxpayers’ dollars that green schools offer. However it is encouraging that some members continue to work in a bipartisan fashion to solve problems.

The effort by Congressman Holt and others is only one bite of the apple, in the effort to improve charter schools programs as the Senate has yet to consider these programs.

The President, the Packers, and Winning One for the American People

Rick Fedrizzi
President, CEO & Founding Chairman
U.S. Green Building Council

I found myself sitting at the kitchen table last night, long after the President and the Packers were done.

The Packers won. What was keeping me up was the thought that the country might actually be able to pull our own victory out of what has been increasingly feeling like an end-of-the-fourth-quarter goal-line stand.

Clearly the President was channeling Knute Rockne, Joe Paterno, Bear Bryant and every other great coach out there. Focus on the fundamentals. Block, tackle and don’t get distracted. Want it more than anything you’ve ever wanted in your life. That’s how you win.

And we need a win. WE. The American people. We need a game plan that’s clear, straightforward and no-nonsense. And fewer are better at delivering on the fundamentals than our USGBC members and the green building movement. I say, “Put us in, Coach.”

Despite all the technology enablers that we’ve dreamed up, and all the fantastic advances in materials science and the awe-inspiring design innovations that have been conceived, what we do in our industry is as straightforward and as people-centric as it gets: Our industry puts shovels in people’s hands and foundations get poured. It puts wrenches in people’s hands and steel rises. It puts hammers in people’s hands and homes get built. It puts the controls of massive bulldozers in people’s hands and roads and bridges get shored up.

Building is a noble act and building sustainably is an act of nation-building that in 10 short years has created a $60 billion industry that never existed before. Our hard-won environmental efforts have spawned jobs and unleashed innovation, and unlocking the massive fuel source of energy efficiency creates jobs that can’t be exported.

Nowhere is that more important than in our homes, our neighborhoods and our schools. In fact, our schools have long been ringing the alarm, and there are thousands of projects out there that are ready to go the minute the funding is available. On average, our schools are more than 40 years old. Nearly a quarter of them require extensive repair just to meet basic health and safety standards, and 15,000 schools have air that had been deemed unfit to breathe. Our kids deserve school buildings that enhance their learning and their health, not compromise it, and this is a way to deliver on that promise.

Our workplaces are no less in need of improvement. The green building industry has suggested a fix to an existing tax incentive, Section 179D, that would put 77,000 people to work improving offices, malls, and supermarkets immediately. There is no downside for the Administration or any member of Congress to picking up this suggestion and running with it.

It’s baffled me that we let ourselves get to this fourth and inches situation on the jobs front. But we’re here. So I say, let’s get on with it. It’s time we won one for the American people.

Access the press release »
Read the blog post: President Obama Announces $25 Billion For Improving Schools »
Browse the fact sheet on the American Jobs Act »