The Most Secure Green Job in America

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) October 20, 2010 - While many are wondering where all the Green jobs are, there is a groundswell of important opportunities for those who want to participate in the environmental revolution. It might help to understand that there are 30 million businesses in America, and they are all going to Go Green sooner or later.  Those who understand the dynamics at work in our world know that businesses must become Green and sustainable.  As we cross over 7 billion people in the world on our way to 9 billion, we know that we can no longer consume and waste resources in mindless abandon.  There is a new era of responsible business on our doorstep, and this expanding need is the reason that we need people to step up and fill the void of knowledge.

More and more companies are hiring a Green officer to help provide the onsite guidance. This is commonly known as the Certified Sustainability Officer or CSO.   Therefore, it seems obvious that intelligent businesses will be hiring, training, or outsourcing the sustainability planning needed by developing Green businesses.  With 30 million businesses that need to Go Green in an honest and comprehensive manner, it seems that training as a Certified Sustainability Officer is one of the most secure jobs in a Greener America.

It may be helpful to explain the fundamental role of a CSO.  The CSO is viewed as the in-house Green officer for a company, and this applies to small or large businesses.  Of course, it is possible to bring in an outside firm and expect that this foreign team will understand the company’s nuances and create a plan that can be implemented for longer than 90 days.  And, there are a variety of names used for this in-house Green officer.   This office has been called: corporate sustainability officer, chief sustainability officer, CSO, or just sustainability officer.  They are all basically the same concept although there are people with various levels of training, education, or experience in various sustainable roles.

The brilliance of the in-house Green officer is that this person is already on the payroll, and the company can maximize its investment into this person.  Secondly, the CSO will be actively involved with the business year after year which makes the change to a Green operation more practical and seamless.  Outside Green consulting programs are not only expensive, but they cannot be constantly present to guide the program forward.  The truth is that a Green and sustainable operation takes about three to five years to accomplish because this is not like replacing a furnace.  In other words, Going Green is a journey that will take a while, not a visit that is later just a memory.

We need to take note that this is a literal mandate that was signed by President Obama in Sept of 2009.  Executive Order #13514 provides guidance to how government agencies are to Go Green, and after making issues about carbon accounting, energy reduction, recycling, paper reduction, and green fleets; the order calls for the installation of a sustainability officer or committee.  This sets the pattern in place that will be followed in the business community.  Most Fortune 1000 companies are already installing sustainability officers.

The good news is that an aspiring sustainability officer need not take time off to go back to school.  One of the best training programs is already available online.  The Certified Sustainability Officer training is found at www.CertifiedSustainabilityOfficer.com.  The program is 15 modules in length and has downloadable text and online video instruction.  This is the same course being taught in college programs without the need to travel or attend the class.

Because of the expanding need for trained and professional Certified Sustainability Officers in every business in America and elsewhere, the CSO may well be the most secure job in America.  After all, when it comes time to cut the payroll, eliminating the CSO would be a serious move in the wrong direction.  The Green Business League highly recommends the training of a CSO in every business regardless of size.  Such actions are the credible way to move a company into a credible sustainability plan that leads to a credible Green business certification.

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