SUSTAINABILITY: “I Want that Job!” 

Presentation at Western Occupational Safety & Health GroupFall Quarterly Meeting, Sep 15–16, 2009 , Dana Point, California

ROBERTO PICCIONI, MS, CSP

Adjunct Faculty, Green MBA Instructor & Student Mentor,Dominican University, San Rafael, CaliforniaRoberto.Piccioni@Dominican.edu 

RPC EcoVantage ServicesEnvironmental Compliance &

 Sustainability ProgramsRoberto@RPC-EcoVantage.com925.330.2246

…Perceptions We’ve Heard

“My background in EHS prepared me well to help my company address these sustainability challenges that were popping up. Everybody from customers to shareholder groups to city officials seemed interested in our energy and waste issues – and I had all the data. When our employees wanted to green our operation, I knew the processes and people around the company to help make it happen in an effective way. Working these issues has given me opportunities and visibility in senior management circles I never had before.”

“I do not think attaching the safety and health professions to sustainability efforts within companies is the answer to addressing this precipitous decline in SHE pros or gaining respect. This is like putting a band-aid on a ruptured artery. All this does is add more work under the guise that the business will value our contribution.”

…Recent Job Trends

• 1980s: Everyone wanted to study business management. Colleges and Universities churned out millions of graduates who had watched Michael Douglas in "Wall Street" and believed they were going to be the next Gordon Gekko.

• 1990s, corporate hiring trends shifted to heavily favor technology jobs. Companies like Microsoft, Google, Dell, Apple exploded - among other tech dependent companies

• & In the 2000’s…. The word sustainability seems to have joined our everyday vocabulary…

$$$

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Carbon

…Where Are We These Days?

• In the summer of 2008, gas prices topped $4 a gallon all over the country.

• People are discussing that we are forced to purchase the oil we need from nations that are hostile to our interests.  

• A failed former presidential candidate earns a Nobel Prize and an Oscar for his educational campaign successes for climate change. 

• 7 million jobs lost since the beginning of the deepest recession in 80 years.

• Federal Stimulus package (ARRA:  the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) busy infusing $825 billion in the economy…

• Market Is up in Last 6 Months 30 – 40 %

…What’s A Good Job Look Like?

“80 percent of young professionals are interested in securing a job that impacts the environment in a positive way, and 92 percent give preference to working for a company that is environmentally friendly.”

2007 MonsterTRAK study

Generation Y, Gen Next or the Millennial Generation:Generally marked by an increased use and familiarity with communications, media, and digital technologies.  Upbringing has also been marked by an increasingly neoliberal, socially & environmentally responsible or market oriented approach to politics and economics.

… What’s Sust Look Like?

Traditional Environmental Sustainability Focus Areas:• Recycling • Preventing pollution & 

reducing waste • Conserving energy & 

considering renewable energy sources 

• Conserving water

Sustainability / Green Sectors…• Environmental protection / 

preservation • Eco–friendly design / Life cycle 

Assessment • Eco-efficiency• Energy Conservation• Water conservation• Renewable energy • Organic / natural products • Fair trade • Holistic health • Clean technology • Peace and justice • Slow-Foods – Local Commerce• Social conscience 

…Follow the Money• In 2008, investors directed $5.9 billion into American businesses 

in the clean energy economy, • Clean energy sources offer real solutions, so both corporations 

and governments are investing billions of dollars into developing biofuels, solar power and other forms of alternative energy.

• Venture capital investment in clean technology continues to grow – Crossed the $1 billion threshold in 2005 and, – Reached a total of about $12.6 billion by the end of 2008. 

www.pewtrusts.org/

September 2, 2009 Khosla Ventures raises $1.1 billion to invest in green technology

"Preparing the Workers of Today for the Jobs of Tomorrow” President's Council of Economic Advisors, July, 2009

Conclusions:1. Health care is forecasted to remain a large source of job growth in the 

labor market.2. The decades-long decline in the share of workers that are employed in 

manufacturing is expected to moderate.3. The construction industry is projected to eventually recover and add jobs 

in the coming decade.

“Worker flexibility is key given the dynamic nature of the U.S. labor market and ongoing technological change. In 2003, for example, a quarter of American workers were in jobs that were not even listed among the Census Bureau’s Occupation codes in 1967, and technological change has only accelerated since then. Environmental-related occupations – which are expected to experience tremendous growth over the next decade – did not exist in comparable data prior to 2000.”

…the Clean Energy Jobs economy grew nearly 2 ½ times faster than overall jobs between ‘98 and ‘07

• Clean Energy comprises five categories: – Clean Energy– Energy Efficiency– Environmentally Friendly Production– Conservation and Pollution Mitigation– Training and Support

…National Clean Energy Summit 2.0, Aug-09 at UNLV

‘Rebuilding America’ plan• an energy efficiency industry to retrofit 40 percent of the country’s building stock — or 50 million buildings — within the next 10 years. 

• would require more than $500 billion in public and private investment and create about 625,000 sustained full-time jobs directly or indirectly throughout the decade. 

• Energy use in those buildings would be reduced up to 40 percent and generate between $32 billion and $64 billion in annual consumer savings

…Green Jobs – Here & Now

• 1.6 million construction workers are unemployed 

•  “You can’t take a building you want to weatherize, put it on a ship to China and then have them do it and send it back. You can make more money if you put down that handgun and pick up a caulk gun.”

…So How Do I Find That Green Job? - That Sustainability Position?

• You gotta scour job boards…• Have a well-developed resume that differentiates you…• Work your network to emphasize your interests…• Identify and convince decision-makers that you are the one that they should hire…

• Persistence is everything…and you are most likely to find employment in an area that utilizes your previous skills. So, don’t be too tempted to toss your past experience for something completely new and different…

…What is a ‘Sustainability Professional’?

“The number of publicly advertised jobs in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) jobs has gone up by 37 percent since 2004. This reflects a genuine need in the market for managers and senior executives knowledgeable about the environment, who can lead green initiatives and create new profit centers.”

•What do they need to know and be able to do?•What are the specialized areas of practice?• Are there codes of ethical conduct to be followed?• Do accreditation processes exist?• What are executives and organizations looking for?• How does a Sustainability Professional add ‘Value’?

…What’s a Sustainability Job Description Look Like for an EHS Professional?

• Strategy – Defining the Value• Internal Sustainability 

Governance• Sustainability Awareness & 

Training Programs• Sustainability Project 

Management– Renewables, Compostables, Fair Trade Coffee, Gray water, vegan, etc, etc, etc

• Sustainability Indicators Dashboard

• Supply Chain & Service Providers Impacts / Assessments 

• Green Teams – Employee & Community groups

• Stakeholders– Investor Relations, 

(Questionnaires, analyst calls, etc)– Government Relations, (Master 

Plan, Legislation, etc)– Facilities 

• GHG, water, waste, Product Stewardship, etc, etc, etc

• And, oh yes, some EHS management responsibilities too

…So Is This Concept of Sustainability Important?

• Nearly half (46 percent) said they rarely or never hear their employers talk about sustainability.

• “Employees really appreciate a little knowledge about their own company. The company gets a more engaged workforce, which will be more engaged in sustainability itself.   They get a cadre of employees in alignment with their company.”  – Ken Eudy, Chief Executive Officer of Capstrat, Public Policy Polling survey.

…As An EHS Professional, What Are Distinctive Attributes That Differentiate Our Abilities?

• Strategic and Tactical focus…• Process knowledge…• Plant knowledge…• Human interactions…• Risk Management…• Program & Project development and management…• Systems management experience…• Balancing the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ side of business management…

…Areas Where EHS Professionals Need To Ensure They Have Strong Skills As Well:

• Marketing & Branding• Customer Facing Issues• Product & Idea Positioning• Accounting & Finance• Communications Skills – Technical - Influence / Relationship Building – Managerial

• Market Awareness• Seeing the Trees & The Forest

…That Great Green Job – that Sustainability Career

Green MBA programs provide a solid grounding in environmental issues, along with traditional business training that prepares them to be leaders in the green corporate world.

“The reality of tomorrow’s markets by equipping them with the social, environmental and economic perspectives required for business success in a competitive and fast changing world.”– Green Biz

…Leading Green MBA Programs

Rating Schemes:• Aspen Institute’s Beyond Grey Pinstripes• Net Impact Annual Report Business As Unusual ranking of 

programs

• Green MBA at Dominican University of California• Presidio School of Management• Bainbridge Graduate Institute• Online Green MBA, Anaheim University• Marylhurst University’s Online MBA in Sustainable Business • Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North 

Carolina-Chapel Hill – Center for Sustainable Enterprise

…Green MBA Mission StatementDominican University of California’s MBA in Sustainable Enterprise is an engaging learning community where people with strong environmental and social values develop effective leadership capacities to advance economically successful, ecologically restorative, and socially just initiatives in any type of organization.

…Transformative Educational Process

 

 Providing strategies, skills, capacities and tools using continuously improving, innovative educational

approaches 

Individualized, Whole-person

focusTransformative Educational

Process

Collaborative community and

business network

…Green MBA as “Your Launch Pad”

•  Entrepreneurship

•  Intrapreneurship

•  Consulting

…Some Success Stories

Isis Spinola-Schwartz is working in the office of the Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in Vienna. She is researching urbanization models for the African continent, with a focus on sustainability, impact of conflict on urban settlements and measures to mitigate environmental degradation. 

Melinda Cheel (2008) is Executive Director of the Green Chamber of Commerce, has seven years of sustainable business experience in a variety of fields including building and design, brand development, event planning and business consulting. 

Joey Shepp (2005) is a social entrepreneur, professional speaker, and sustainability consultant who is passionate about leveraging the Internet for environmental and social good. He is the founder of Earthsite, a web strategy firm specializing in social media and sustainability, with four DUC Green MBAs on staff. 

…Some Success Stories

Jason McBriarty lead a campaign at Levi Strauss & Co. called ‘Boot the Bottle’ that eliminated bottled water from the Levi Straus corporate campus.

Kathy Gerwig of Kaiser Permanente led EHS compliance and management systems for more than 13 years and was promoted to a role as Vice President, leading Workplace Safety and Environmental Stewardship Officer

John Rockwell, from his position in McDonald’s as Lead Quality Manager in U.S. restaurant design developed the company’s first US Green Building Strategy.

…Some Proven Techniques For Success

1. Connect a project to your organization’s core business objectives and find ways to create business value.

2. Build a team of colleagues to help execute the work.  

3. Gather preliminary data by which to measure progress.  (Report success in financial terms.)

4. Deliver Results!! 

1. Connect with Business Objectives

• Reducing waste, costs, and environmental impact.

• Increasing employee engagement, attraction, and retention.

• Furthering priorities of senior management. • Creating new business opportunities. 

2. Build a Team of Colleagues to Help Execute the Work.

• Start conversations and find allies.

• Be credible, Be inclusive.• But be strategic too.• Build enthusiasm with events.

3. Gather Data & Measure Progress. • Surveying coworkers for their knowledge…

• Researching both internally and externally… 

• Developing benchmarks…• Report Financially, AND all the other beneficial effects…

“Lean & Green” 7 GREEN Wastes Energy  - Water – Materials – Garbage - Transportation – Emissions - Biodiversity 

4. Deliver Results!!

• Savings• Material or Waste Minimization• Absenteeism / Presenteeism• Stakeholder impacts– Employees, Community

• Communicate – Communicate – Communicate!

…Are You Accomplishing ‘Your Inner Purpose’?

• Recount the critical episodes in your life that shaped you…• Are you doing now what you had envisioned you would be doing 10 years ago?

• Who do you admire?  What is it about them that you admire?  Is this a reflection of what you would like to see in yourself?

– Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life Harvard Business Press, June 2008.

Stewart D. Friedman Practice Professor of ManagementDirector, Wharton Work/Life Integration Project

…best regards,

Roberto Piccioni

Adjunct Faculty, Green MBA Instructor & Student Mentor,Dominican University, San Rafael, CaliforniaRoberto.Piccioni@Dominican.edu 

RPC EcoVantage ServicesEnvironmental Compliance &

 Sustainability ProgramsRoberto@RPC-EcoVantage.com925.330.2246