“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?

Each study calculates green job potential differently, with estimates of Ohio job growth varying from 500,000 to over 2 million jobs. Some studies include support service jobs, such as bankers, lawyers, clerks, and managers created indirectly from the growth of green industry jobs. Others only include direct jobs for what is being called the “Green-collar workforce,” the group of workers whose skills translate from traditional blue-collar industries.

The Apollo Alliance points out, “Because the ‘green’ industry' is relatively new, most data are either estimates or anecdotal… data isn’t systematically collected at any kind of macro-level. The government group that assigns industry codes hasn’t gotten around to assigning a code to various clean energy industries such as solar or wind. Some industries such as parts manufacturers make parts that are used in both ‘green’ and ‘non-green’ jobs.” Thus, the wide diversity of functions and technologies in a green economy makes it challenging to estimate job growth.

Keeping in mind the limitations, below are a variety of studies that cover the range of what we currently know about Ohio and its potential for green-collar jobs. For a summary of the key points of these studies, go here.

The Clean Energy Economy: State by State, Pew Environment Group (August 2009)

Cleveland, Ohio: Green Prosperity and Poverty Reduction, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts, Amherst (June 2009)

Green Jobs in U.S. Metro Areas, U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Mayors Climate Protection Center (October 2008)

Job Opportunities for the Green Economy: A State-by-State Picture of Occupations that Gain from Green Investments, Political Economy Research Institute (June 2008)

Ohio Green Jobs Fact Sheet, Blue Green Alliance (June 2008)

Ohio Agriculture to Chemicals, Polymers, and Advanced Materials Task Force Final Report and Recommendations (June 2008)

Energizing Ohio’s Economy, Environment Ohio Research and Policy Center (August 2007)

Economic and Jobs Impacts of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Industries: U.S. and Ohio, Management Information Services, Inc. for the American Solar Energy Society (July 2007)

Creating Jobs, Saving Energy, and Protecting the Environment, Union of Concerned Scientists (June 2007)

Job Creation in the Environmental Industry in the U.S. and in Nine States, Management Information Services, Inc. (April 2006)

Component Manufacturing: Ohio’s Future in the Renewable Energy Industry, Renewable Energy Policy Project (October 2005)

New Energy for America. The Apollo Jobs Report: For Good Jobs And Energy Independence, Apollo Alliance (January 2004)

Additional resources
Blue-Green Alliance in Northeast Ohio - what advanced energy sector jobs could mean for our region
"Defining Green-Collar Jobs" - The Plain Dealer