Robert Moreo

Wayne State University

State, Regional and Local Economic Development – UP6550

March 9, 2010

What are the common goals of successful green jobs initiatives?

How do they vary and how can they be tailored to suit local economies?

What policies need to be put in place to drive market demand for green products and services?

How should the green-collar workforce be trained?

What are the characteristics of a green-collar job?

How can practitioners leverage program success into future political support and financial backing?

Setting environmental goals.

In New York City, Mayor Bloomberg launched

PlaNYC 2030, which included 127 different

initiatives to reduce energy use, clean up land

and water, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,

among other goals.

Once environmental goals have been set,

strategies can be built to identify and train for

the specific skills needed to meet the targets.

What population of workforce will programs be

tailored to serve?

Assessment of existing programs and who is

participating.

If it is a goal to reduce poverty and provide

opportunities to disadvantaged residents, then

partnerships with agencies that serve these

communities need to be formed early in the

development process.

Direct Investment

› install renewable energy systems on public buildings

› commitment to convert public transportation and

government vehicle fleets to alternative fuels

› building mass transit infrastructure

› retrofitting existing public buildings for energy

efficiency

› commitment to constructing new public buildings to

meet green building certification standards.

Committing to a strategy for reducing municipal energy use:

› Buildings account for 75% of energy use citywide, and burning fossil fuels to power buildings accounts for 80% of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. (NYC)

› Investing 10% of its energy budget – about $80 million in FY 2008 – to finance municipal building efficiency projects.

› These projects are expected to create 124,000 jobs in engineering, construction and maintenance over the next decade.

› 2 MW of solar panels installed on municipal building rooftops.

Increasing urban green space improves air quality, helps manage stormwater runoff, can reduce energy use by providing shade, and can even provide local, healthy sources of produce through community gardens.

Jobs are created in park maintenance, landscape design and construction.

GreenStreets program is a partnership between the Parks Department and the Department of Transportation, which is converting paved islands and medians into planted spaces.

The MillionTreesNYC program is a ten-year initiative of the Parks Department to plant a million trees by 2017.

20,000 square feet of green roof plantings at Chicago city hall.

Grants to residents and small businesses to install green roofs.

NYC property tax credit to help offset the cost of installing green roofs.

59% of the formula

funding was allocated

to cities and counties,

and 24% was at the

state level.

The State of Michigan

was allotted $77.7

million of this funding.

NYC property tax abatement for solar panel

installations.

ARRA provided $300 million for an energy

efficiency appliance rebate program.

“Cash for Clunkers” program provided up to a

$4500 credit.

Federal tax credits for residential efficiency

investments insulation, windows, HVAC

equipment, water heaters, etc.

Require recipients of municipal tax credits and other incentives to participate in the development

Job standards – including living wage and benefit requirements, local hiring preferences, and safety considerations

Community benefits agreements created between developers and local community organizations require the developer to support a range of job readiness programs.

2009 Greener, Greater Buildings Plan

› required buildings over 50,000 square feet in area to

benchmark energy and water use, undergo periodic

energy audits and implement certain retrofit

measures.

› The legislation is predicted to create over 2000 new

jobs in energy auditing and building management, as

well as thousands of temporary construction jobs

over a ten-year period.

The bill amends several sections of the StilleDeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act to permit a governmental subdivision to adopt as its code the National Green Building Standard (ICC-700) or the current version of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system at a specified level.

The adoption would be executed by ordinance and would be enforceable within that governmental subdivision upon adoption and submission to the department director.

Portfolio standards are sets of goals that states put in place that specify certain percentages of energy production that must come from renewable sources, or that specify certain percentages of energy use reduction to be achieved through efficiency measures.

The level at which a state is willing to commit itself to a portfolio standard is seen as a signal of how committed they are to green policies in general.

Link goals and policies to a set of workforce development programs that will provide the skilled workforce needed to reach the targets.

Green collar training initiatives develop within or expand from existing programs.

Many of the jobs needed in a greener economy are an expansion of industries and jobs we already have.

Less focus on creating new courses of study, and greater emphasis on embedding green curricula into existing courses of study.

Essential for a city to position itself to access

state and federal funding streams.

Employers and business organizations

› identify weaknesses in the labor market

› help design training curricula based on real-world

workforce needs.

› focused at a sector or individual industry level, in

order to use resources most efficiently.

› Michigan Skills Alliances

Education› Work with employers to identify skills and design curricula.

› Career guidance and other support services.

› M-TEC & New Jobs Training Program

› No Worker Left Behind

American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment› comprehensive plan to achieve climate neutrality

› comprehensive inventory of all greenhouse gas emissions

› all new campus construction be built to at least the USGBC LEED silver standard or its equivalent,

› purchase or produce at least 15 percent of the institution’s electricity consumption from renewable sources

If it is a goal for a state or city to extend green collar workforce development to disadvantaged and impoverished members of the community, then a variety of comprehensive job readiness services need to be incorporated into the overall workforce development plan.

Adult basic education in reading and math, sustainability and environmental awareness training, a centralized information center for job seekers, program alignment with overall green initiatives, neighborhood place-based emphasis and “soft skills” training and “wraparound” services.

Commitment by mayors, governors and city councils to make the choice to invest in building a greener economy.

Documenting success:

› What partnerships have been built among stakeholders?

› What policy goals have been reached as a result of green collar jobs programs?

› How many jobs have been created or retained? How many people are participating in job training programs, and what is the result of their training?

› What funding sources have been secured?