Grad school PowerPoint presentation on "green collar" workforce development policy.

1. Robert Moreo
Wayne State University
State, Regional and Local Economic Development – UP6550
March 9, 2010

2.  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?

3.  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.

4.  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.

5.  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.

6.  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.

7.  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.

8.  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.

9.  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.

10.  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.

12.  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.

13.  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.

14.  The bill amends several sections of the Stille
DeRossett-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.

15.  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.

17.  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.

18.  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

19.  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

20.  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.

21.  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?