Recently one of the members of our LinkedIn group for employers and partner organizations began a discussion about the top “emerging careers,” particularly for recent graduates of Arts programs. One of the respondents raised the topic of “green jobs” and the timing couldn’t be better.
This year, the Toronto City Summit Alliance (chaired by David Pecaut, one of the founders of Career Edge) created the “Greening Canada Fund,” a voluntary carbon offset fund to help Canadian corporations reduce emissions. It is the first of its kind aimed entirely at large Canadian corporations.
Earlier this week, it was announced that the Greening Canada Fund would be launching with $13 million dollars. Career Edge Organization host employers TD Bank and Bank of Montreal are their first investors (Click here to read the full press release). The Fund aims to reach $50 million.
One of the many positive impacts of this Fund is the inevitable creation of green jobs.
This news comes shortly after the recent “Brick Works Forum” held by not-for-profit Evergreen in partnership with the federal government that gathered 100 business leaders to talk about the emerging Green Economy. Many of the participants, representing forward-thinking, innovative leaders in Canada, were also our host employers, such as GE Canada.
For many recent grads and Millennial job-seekers, companies that have gone green are attractive places to work. This group may currently face high unemployment rates but they still represent the leaders of tomorrow. It seems that going green may not only be the ethical and sustainable thing to do, it is also good for employment branding.
I stumbled upon GoodWork the other day, who call themselves “Canada’s green job site.” Employers looking to attract green talent can post here free.