Environmental
Understanding Green Careers
Increasing population and economic growth issues have created complex environmental problems that impact all aspects of society creating a need for cross-sector interest and collaboration among government, nonprofit and private organizations. Traditional environmental fields of agriculture, natural resource management, pollution abatement and conservation are now expanding to incorporate innovative approaches in sustainable development, education, governance and democracy, poverty reduction, public health, security, and economic strategy to address growing environmental concerns. For example, waste management cannot be addressed simply with landfill policies, but must incorporate smart growth, recycling, emission capture, and creation of markets to turn waste into a useful commodity.
The idea of an environmental or green career is also evolving to meet the mounting demand for environmental sustainability within most if not all industries. The United States Department of Labor defines Green Careers as those industries that produce energy from renewable sources, improve energy efficiency, prevent and clean up pollution and greenhouse gases, and/or conserve natural resources:
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While the field only makes up about 1-5% of all jobs, they represent a variety of careers and required education and training. To learn more about career paths in Green Industries:
- GreenOccupedia.com
- CareerOneStop.org
- Idealist.org
- What Can I Do with This Major?
While many academic disciplines can lead to a career working with the environment, you may want to view the links for majors such as environmental studies, sociology, political science and the various sciences.
Landing Jobs, Internships & Volunteer Opportunities
Government
The U.S. federal government is the largest single employer in the environmental career world. While the Environmental Protection Agency is the agency traditionally associated with environmental policy development in the U.S., including international environmental policy, many federal agencies pursue international environmental activities.
Example Government Agencies:
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Nonprofits/Non-governmental Organizations
Nonprofit and non-governmental organizations, while numerous, do not offer significant employment opportunities and those that are available are highly competitive. According to a survey by the Environmental Careers Organization, the 30 best-known environmental nonprofit organizations employ less than 5,000 total, and approximately half of those employees are with The Nature Conservancy, the largest nonprofit group. While salaries are sometimes lower in nonprofits than government or private organizations, nonprofits are showing more willingness to reward hard work with increased compensation in order to maintain organizational stability. Nonprofits and NGOs provide excellent opportunities to gain experience through volunteering and internships.
Example NPO/NGOs:
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Private/Corporate
The private sector consists of traditional businesses, social enterprises and consulting firms. Corporate Social Responsibility is a growing concern with traditional businesses who aim to regulate their environmental impact through their production methods or the product itself. These companies seek qualified employees to work in environmental compliance programs, incorporate environmental concerns into business strategies, improve performance by waste reduction and energy efficiency, and develop sustainable strategies.
There is also an emergence of social enterprises that have written environmental sustainability into their mission and bottom-line (i.e. Seventh Generation, Tom’s of Maine). These companies tend to be smaller but the opportunities and skills needed are varied as with any business (i.e. marketing, advertising, sales, supply chain, accounting, etc).
Environmental consulting firms provide technical assistance to both domestic and foreign government agencies to address environmental problems and solutions. They need both administrative managers who write and manage the contract proposals and technical experts who provide the research for various tasks in an awarded contract.
Example private companies:
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Job, Intern and Volunteer Web Resources
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Getting Involved, Getting Connected
Professional Associations by Industry
University of Tennessee Organizations
- SPEAK (students promoting environmental action in Knoxville)
- UT Environmental Studies Club
- Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy
- Institute for Secure & Sustainable Environment
- Make Orange Green
- TeamVOLS
LinkedIn Networking Groups
- Green Jobs and Careers Network
- Carbon Market Business Network
- Think Green
- GreenTek
- Smart Grids: Energy & Water
- Global Green Power PLC
- Clean Economy Network
- Renewable Energy Jobs
- Clean Techies Around the World
- Corporate Environmental Sustainability
Suggested Reading
- Hot ,Flat, Crowded by Thomas Friedman
- The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken
- A Declaration of Energy Independence by Dr. Jay Hakes
- Midcourse Correction by Ray Anderson
- Green Careers: Choosing Work for a Sustainable Future by Jim Cassio, Alice Rush
- Green Careers for Dummies by Carol McClelland
- AND many more BLOGS found in recommended websites above!



