Location(s)

"Uniting Relighting Employing Ohio" green jobs event:  A coalition of labor groups environmental groups and trade activists will be convening at the Statehouse in Columbus to promote a common agenda: Clean Energy and Efficiency, Fair Trade, and Green Job Training. Speakers include Gov. Ted Strickland and Sierra Club director Carl Pope.

More information.

Location(s)

"Innovations in Sustainability: Engineering Solutions," the fall engineering conference of the Cleveland Engineering Society. Speakers include Patrick Conway, co-owner of Great Lakes Brewing Co., and Christina Ayers, director of the Cleveland Clinic's Office for a Healthy Environment.

Registration information.

Location(s)

Annual summit of the Lorain County Community Alliance, focusing on job creation and retention.

Registration information.

A collection of recent Green Jobs studies provide Ohio and Northeast Ohio with lessons on the best strategies for growth.

Lesson 1: Ohio’s strength lies in renewable energy component manufacturing
Economic benefits – Every $1 million of investment in rotors, generators, towers and other related investments equates to 1 MW of renewable energy capacity and three new jobs. Ohio could gain 22,922 jobs from renewable energy component manufacturing, with Cuyahoga and Lorain counties topping the list. Renewable Energy Policy Project (PDF) (2005).
Social benefits – Some of the most demanded occupations for renewable energy would include carpenters, accountants, engineers, technicians, mechanics, plumbers, sales representatives, and managers. Wages for many of these new jobs are higher than the US average (Economic and Jobs Impacts of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency PDF).

Here are key findings from studies of the the potential for green jobs in Ohio:

Ohio needs a job-intensive industry. From 1996 to 2006, Ohio total employment increased 2.7% while total U.S. employment increased 14%. Ohio manufacturing jobs decreased 23%, from 1.03 million in 1996 to 797,000 in 2006, a loss of 233,000 jobs (Job Creation in the Environmental Industry pdf). Highly job-intensive sectors like wind and solar manufacturing present opportunities that Ohio cannot afford to miss.

“Green jobs" is a broad descriptor for occupations created to conserve resources and make human activity more environmentally sustainable — jobs range from manufacturing wind turbines to developing fuel cells, deconstructing buildings and managing recycling to growing urban farms or coordinating sustainability practices at a business. In Northeast Ohio, efforts to create green jobs have focused primarily on opportunities in the advanced energy sector, but a broad agenda for regional sustainability could create green jobs in every area of our economy.

Energy opportunities

Two major studies, the McKinsey & Co. report, "Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much at What Cost?" (2007), and the Political Economy Research Institute report, "Job Opportunities for the Green Economy" (2008), identify clusters of approaches for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and advancing sustainability: 

• Improving energy efficiency in buildings and appliances
• Increasing fuel efficiency in vehicles
• Improving mass transit efficiency and infrastructure
• Reducing carbon intensity of fuels
• Improving efficiency in energy-intensive industrial production
• Expanding and enhancing carbon sinks
• Managing carbon markets
• Reducing the carbon intensity of electrical power production
• Expanding use of renewable energy technology

All of these clusters of activity will demand additional human capital in public, private and non-profit sectors.

How many jobs can Ohio expect to gain?

Location(s)

Midtown Brews networking event with Jim Cossler, Chief Evangelist, Youngstown Business Incubator, and Craig Zamary, Green Energy TV.

Those cross-country cyclists working to raise attention for climate change and the need to address an issue of national and international impact are at it again, organizing a ride from New York to Washington, DC. They are asking concerned citizens and riders to plan on joining them in September for a five to Washington D.C.

The ride is to promote renewable energy and solutions to global warming: www.climateride.org and they will have cyclists from all over the country joining them, and they say it would be great to have representatives from Cleveland join us and ride to Washington. Here’s the release:

Join Brita Climate Ride 2008
September 20th - 24th
New York to D.C.
www.ClimateRide.org

Join Brita Climate Ride 2008 for the first multi-day supported bicycle tour where you pedal to promote renewable energy and solutions to global warming. Climate Riders will cycle 320 miles in five days from New York to Washington D.C., following scenic country roads and finishing on the steps of our nation's capitol, where we will make a statement about our country's need for action.

Along the way, expert speakers will educate and inspire Climate Riders and local communities about the science, the policies and the solutions to global warming. Our riders and the communities we pass through will learn how our government, businesses, and all Americans will benefit from a cleaner, healthier climate. This is a unique event--a fundraiser and climate conference on wheels, and an opportunity to meet people who are engaged in making a difference.

Each rider will be responsible for raising $2,250. Proceeds from the ride benefit Clean Air - Cool Planet and Focus the Nation, two organizations that lead the way in expanding climate change education, encouraging renewable energy policies, and promoting solutions to global warming.

Location(s)

National conference of Social Venture Partners International.

Location(s)

Join Entreprenuers for Sustainability (E4S) to find innovative mobility solutions and opportunities.

• How can I reduce the cost of my business' product shipping and transportation?
• How can my employees lower their costs of getting to work?
• How can I reduce my company's transportation carbon footprint?
• What are the new business opportunities in the sustainable mobility sector?

Speakers will include:

John McGovern, Earth Day Coalition`s Clean Transportation Program
Jerry Egan, City of Akron Planning and Urban Development
Greg Bachman, Summit County Engineer
Dana Myers, Kammy Willis, Myers Motors

Free. Registration is required. Click here to register online or call 216/451-7755.

You can also request a display table for the event if you have sustainable products or services for businesses.