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Green Jobs Initiative

Sustainability is playing a transformative role in the global economy, shifting business priorities and changing how businesses operate. This is creating a demand for candidates with skills that enable business activities to become environmentally sustainable.

At the same time, we at the University of Cincinnati have observed increasing demand from students across all majors for "green" job roles. To bridge the gap between demand for such skills and the supply of talent, the University of Cincinnati’s Net Impact Student Chapter is integrating a Green Jobs Initiative into the Professional and Technical Career Fair.

Companies that are actively hiring at this fair for roles that support environmental sustainability and that meet the criteria as determined by Net Impact will be visually identified at the fair to guide job seekers to these roles.

How can I participate?

When you register for the fair, you'll be asked if you would like to be considered for designation as a green job employer at this fair. Students from UC's Net Impact chapter will follow up to gather information and make a determination. If your roles are determined to meet the criteria, we will identify your company visually at the fair.

Green Job Role Approval Criteria

UC's Net Impact student chapter defines a green job as one that enables the environmental sustainability of economic activity. When assessing a job role, we consider the following 13 categories. The job must fulfill at least one category to be considered a green job. These are largely based on LinkedIn’s Economic Group reports on green jobs and from consultation with professionals in the field.

Any work that prevents, eliminates, or reduces pollutants at the source such as air emissions, solid and hazardous waste, and/or liquid discharges.

Any work that is involved with reducing the amount of hazardous or non-hazardous waste generated as byproducts of a process. This involves reducing potential waste and eliminating existing waste.

Any work involved with progressing forward a clean and renewable energy generation future.

Any work involved in promoting electrification and energy efficiency of new and existing systems.

Any work focused on the extraction of pollutants or contaminants from water and soil.

Any work concerned with the upkeep and protection of existing areas in response to negative impacts of pollution.

Any work that focuses on educating the general public on topics of sustainability to apply to their own business practices or career paths.

Any work focused on developing new products and services that uphold sustainability values or progress business sustainability agendas through R&D.

Any work focused on the tracking of sustainability performance.

Any work involved in the commitment of an organization or government to laws, regulations, or other policy measures concerning the environment.

Any work involved in sourcing sustainably or assisting suppliers in practices to adopt sustainable practices.

Any work involved in the management of money and funding towards sustainability efforts.

Any work that aids in the development of sustainability frameworks within economic systems.

Example Scenarios

Scenario 1

Company A is recruiting for a plastics engineering co-op. The role description says the co-op will assist in manufacturing processes that increase the output of polyethylene plastics. Since this role does not fall into any of the categories, this would not be considered a green job role.

However, if the plastics engineering co-op role description indicates the co-op will research markets in which a new bioplastic product would be viable, this role falls under the category of sustainable research and would be considered a green job role.

Scenario 2

Company B is recruiting for an accounting co-op. The job description lists assisting in the processing and reporting of financial data. Since there is no mention of any green skills, this role would not qualify.

However, if the accounting co-op job description says the co-op will assist in processing and reporting environmental performance data for a report, this falls under the environmental auditing category and would be considered a green job role.

Scenario 3

Company C is recruiting for a mechanical engineering co-op. The role description says the co-op will analyze energy use of HVAC and lighting systems in a building to advise a client on more efficient alternatives. This role would fall under the energy management category and would be considered a green job.

However, if the role description focuses on design and installation of HVAC systems without considering energy efficiency, this would not be considered a green job.

Questions

If you have any questions about the Green Jobs Initiative, reach out to UC's Net Impact student chapter at cincy.netimpact@gmail.com.