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Better World, What's Up October 18, 2011

Whose Job Is It To Be Green?

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This guy wasn’t pondering this question back in 1930. (It wasn’t long after that we were.) Today, more people like him are not only thinking about being green, they’re making their living doing green work.

McGraw-Hill Construction says 35 percent of architects, engineers, and contractors report having green jobs today. The study defined “green jobs” as those that involve over 50 percent of one’s work being done on green projects or designing and installing green systems.

That 35 percent represents 661,000 jobs, or about one-third of the industry workforce. And there’s better news. The share of green workers is expected to increase to 45 percent of all design and construction jobs by 2014.

We’re delighted to see these trends. As merchants of virtue, we are committed to being green, even when it isn’t convenient, because in the end we know it’s as good for business as it is for the earth.

Comments (3)

I like that you have created the term Merchant of Virtue – it inspires. We are Green Builders in Sarasota Florida — meaning simply that we build a better more healthy product that gives back to its owners in ways that “comparable homes” do not. We love to see hyper-quality brands driving driving environmental awareness – whats cool is in! If whats in becomes timeless…well, then…you get to purchase product like the Eames chair decades after it is released. Green is cool, its in, timeless! Thanks Herman Miller!

Steve Ellis http://www.mygreenbuildings.com

Stephen, we didn’t create the term Merchants of Virtue. The name was bestowed on us by independent author Bill Birchard in the title of his book on Herman Miller’s journey toward green. I recommend it if you have the opportunity.

Merchants of Virtue: Herman Miller and the Making of a Sustainable Company

Thanks for that David – I’ll check it out!

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