In my retail stores in the ’90’s, we sold about 3,500 products in 16 departments all screened for their environmental impact. Things like organic cotton clothing, energy-efficient lighting, all-natural body care and cleaning supplies, recycled paper office supplies and so on.
Did our employees in the stores have “green jobs”? An argument could be made they were just helping run a retail operation.
How do we know when someone is doing something “environmentally correct”?
It is the same for anything. Describe what it is to really love sports? If you love soccer and basketball, but don’t watch football, are you still a sports fan?
In the end, it doesn’t really matter what your definition is for being “environmentally correct.” Or what “green jobs” actually means. What does are your actions?
Especially small business, as we are the eyes and ears of our planet and economy.
What my students discover with me on the first day of class when I teach Environmental Entrepreneurism at the Center of Environmental Research and Conservation at Columbia University is what it means to be “green” is our actions in business.
President-elect Obama is announcing that creating and funding “green jobs” will be one of his major initiatives soon after taking office in January.
Great! “Green jobs” should include businesses making best efforts by being on the leading edge of sustainability. To incorporate the best known practices in business.
These businesses take responsibility for their actions and the impact they have on all their stakeholders (stakeholders = anyone who is impacted by the business’ existence).
Businesses that incorporate the triple-bottom line of “people, the planet and profits” into their business’ actions.
How Obama’s “green jobs” get the US economy and competitive edge back?
* Promotes a new way of being – far beyond just the short term profits of businesses.
* Encourages longer-term strategic planning for business, taking into account its viability in our communities and the planet. The business’ actions being sustainable over the long haul.
* Stimulate business activity and R&D for other businesses to follow suit in order to keep up with competition.
* Allows us to reassess our value structures around:
o economic growth and wealth generation
o the real value of consumerism
o consumption, allocation and handling of resources and raw materials
o the impact of our actions on a much greater scale
It is easy to write this and think about it in a visionary way. But is it realistic to powerfully set up “green jobs” and see a positive impact on our economy and well-being?
The answer depends on how we manage the future.
Short term- 1-3 years out, probably not much can or would happen without government intervention. For example, if the Small Business Administration quickly sets up training and lending programs to promote “green jobs” in the US.
Medium term-3-5 years out, we will start to see some movement and more permanent infrastructures taking hold in our economy and long-term health of our businesses.
Long term-5+ years out, if we keep our eye on the ball and continue down this path, we should start to see more permanent resilience in the sustainability of business and our economy.
Fine, but if we’re struggling to pay rent and make payroll right now, what to do?
Act quickly. Shift our attitudes and actions immediately:
* Curb our addictions to growth and consumption (see How to Curb Our Addiction to “Stuff”)
* Go back to basics: buy when we have the money and borrow responsibly
* Buy less and smarter: better quality and designed products and services
* Incorporate a “we” (not “me”) mindset and work in groups for the collective good
* Get grounded in what true happiness and abundance really is
It sounds great for our country to take on “green jobs”. The question then becomes, are you ready to take it on?
Action Steps for the Week:
Look to see how you can reinvent your operations. Even if you feel you are as “green” as possible, dig deeper… way deeper. Look beyond just your office, business, community, city, state, and country.
How far does your impact reach? I bet it goes way farther than you thought. Start there.
Yes, way over there!
Then look to see how you can improve your operations. How can you to take care all the people, our planet and your profits back to your country, state, city, community and business?
And then start there.
By: Stefan Doering
Archive for February, 2010
Vision of Green Jobs and Its Impact
February 23rd, 20106 Ways Employers Evaluate High School Students For Employment
February 22nd, 2010
There is no one approach that all employers will use to evaluate teenagers for employment in certain jobs. In general, each company will evaluate the applicants based on personal characteristics and the job skills required for the job.
This quick list will give you an idea of six areas that employers say they observe when interviewing a high school student as a prospective employee.
Availability. The Department of Labor has very specific work rules for teenage employees. They have guidelines about age, job duties and the number of hours a teenager can be available for work. Your availability for work has to match up with the needs of the employer on the job.
Skills and ability to perform the job. This is the bottom line for many employers. If an employer is hiring a high school student to work in a fast paced environment, they will want to know if you can think on your feet and multi task.
Personal appearance, attitude, self confidence and maturity. Employers love to hire and work with high school students who are self confident and project a positive attitude on the job. Employers can get a sense of these characteristics in the interview by evaluating a student’s body language and verbal communication. Body language such as fidgeting, giggling, slouching in the chair or not making eye contact can all reveal a negative attitude and low self confidence.
Enthusiasm for working in that job. You have to be enthusiastic about working in that job. High school students should keep their energy high in the interview by getting a good night’s sleep and eating well before the interview. Slouching in your seat in the interview does not show enthusiasm.
School grades, attendance and participation. The way a high school student performs at school is sometimes a good indicator or the way they will perform on the job. However, it a high school student is very involved in academic and non academic activities, you might want to ask questions about time management and scheduling conflict.
Personality. Whether you are a shy, friendly or outgoing high school student, it will come across in an interview. Employers might use what they see of your personality in the interview to decide which job would be good for you. For example, if you want to work in retail and come across as serious or shy, the employer might put you to work in inventory until you get more comfortable or confident on the job.
If you are a high school student looking for a job, think about these six areas as you prepare for your interview. Knowing what the employers want will help you answer questions and be impressive in the interview.
By: Marcia C Robinson
