Predictions from an Eco-Crystal Ball: The Green Reinvention of American Jobs!

It is not a question of ‘WHEN’ or ‘IF’ the American economy will recover from this latest recession, but ‘WHERE’ will the green-collar jobs of tomorrow be most predominant? And WHAT link is there between green entrepreneurship and geography? It is that very question that I shall attempt to answer herewith: Where will the greatest geographic concentration of tomorrow’s sustainable communities and green entrepreneurs be located within the boundaries of the continental USA?

To begin, the growth of tomorrow’s green-collar jobs looks the brightest in America’s urban centers. Indeed, the green gentrification of America’s largest cities was just recently given a tremendous boost by President Obama’s “Green Building Initiative” launched on Dec. 2, 2011 which amounts to a $4 Billion investment in energy upgrades in public and private buildings over the next two years. The hope is that the upgrades will make America’s buildings 20 percent more energy efficient over the next decade and that it will create about 50,000 jobs in the hard-hit construction industry.

Large American cities and their contiguous municipalities are also home to the greatest concentrations of angel investor groups and social venture capital firms in the country whose commitment to Triple Bottom Line Investing (commonly called the three P’s: People, Planet, & Profits) has spurred on new clean-tech startups and new health technologies. Start-up companies are where the jobs are created and access to low-cost capital is critical. Indeed, between 2008 and 2010, green job growth outpaced traditional job growth at a rate of nearly 2-to-1 in the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan centers.

The growth of new eco-political alliances within America’s major cities is also shaping the green jobs sector of tomorrow. The New York City Environmental Justice Alliance offers a green jobs apprenticeship program. The Energy Alliance of Greater Pittsburgh offers funding for energy innovation programs and green-energy related careers. The Boston Harbor Island Alliance offers eco-recreation and eco-tourism development opportunities and Air Alliance Houston offers school children health and science lessons. But perhaps the most significant eco-political partnership to have emerged in America in just the last six years is the ‘BlueGreen Alliance Foundation’, a non-profit coalition between labor unions and environmental organizations now 14 million members strong – “dedicated to expanding the number and quality of jobs in the green economy”. And one of their major challenges is to green American cities while advancing social equity.

But not all urban centers are equal when one considers the most sustainable cities in America – Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; and San Francisco, California. And now with the 2008 establishment of the “Pacific Coast Collaborative”, an agreement by which the governmental leaders of California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska have pledged to work together to find common solutions to regional and global challenges — Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco are now positioned to be North America’s greatest centers of green innovation and sustainable resource management in the 7th largest economy in the world.

There are other factors at work as well that will continue to make Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington and San Francisco, California the greatest powerhouse engines of green job growth of tomorrow. One is a culture that tolerates and encourages failure. Second is an abundance of public policies that promote entrepreneurship, environmental stewardship, and progressive urban planning. Third is the abundance of renewable resources, natural beauty, and distinctive quality-of-life features that attracts both entrepreneurs and investors to set up business in these locations. Fourth, the entrepreneurial infrastructure amongst these three cities and within these three cities are truly amazing. Here are but a few:
Portland, Oregon –
(1) Creative Entrepreneurs Anonymous – www.www.meetup.com/Creative-Entrepreneurs-Anonymous/
(2) Greener Good (Women’s Marketing Group) – www.greenergood.com
(3) OVP Venture Partners – www.ovp.com/
(4) Oregon Angel Fund – www.oen.org/programs_oaf.aspx
(5) Oregon Entrepreneurs Network – www.oen.org/
(6) Oregon Microenterprise Network – www.oregon-microbiz.org/
(7) Oregon Networking Professionals – www.oregonnetworkingprofessionals.com/
(8) Portland Angel Network – www.oen.org/programs_pan.aspx
(9) Reference Capital – www.referencecapital.com/
(10) SmartForest Ventures – www.smartforest.com/
(11) The Oregon Native American Business & Entrepreneurial Network (ONABEN) – www.onaben.org/
(12) Voyager Capital – www.voyagercapital.com/
(13) Women Entrepreneurs of Oregon – www.oregonweo.org/
(14) Women’s Investment Network – www.fundingpost.com/
(15) Young Women Social Entrepreneurs – www.ywse.org/

Seattle, Washington –
(1) Alliance of Angels – www.allianceofangels.com/
(2) Entrepreneurs’ Organization – www.eonetwork.org/
(3) Ignite Seattle – www.igniteseattle.com/
(4) Innovate Washington – www.innovatewashington.org/
(5) Madrona Venture Group – www.madrona.com/
(6) Northwest Entrepreneur Network – www.nwen.org/
(7) Power Chicks International – www.powerchicksinternational.com/
(8) Puget Sound Venture Club – www.pugetsoundvc.com/index.asp
(9) Seattle Tech Startups – www.seattletechstartups.com/doku.php
(10) Seattle University’s Entrepreneurship Center –
www.seattleu.edu/albers/entrepreneurship.aspx
(11) Seraph Capital Forum – www.www.seraphcapital.com/
(12) Tech Cafe – www.npost.com/techcafe/
(13) TiE – www.seattle.tie.org/
(14) Zino Society – www.zinosociety.com/

San Francisco, CA-
(1) Asian American Business Connection – www.meetup.com/asian-american-business-connection/
(2) Bay Area Social Enterprise – www.meetup.com/socent/
(3) Berkeley Business Mixers – www.meetup.com/Berkeley-Business-Mixers/
(4) Change-Agent Entrepreneurs Bay Area – www.meetup.com/Bay-Area-Entrepreneurs-Network/
(5) Eco-Tuesday – www.ecotuesday.com/
(6) Fashion Entrepreneurs – www.meetup.com/Fashion-Entrepreneurs/
(7) Fearless Women Entrepreneur Network (FWEN) – www.fearlesswomennetwork.com/
(8) Genuine Networking Association (GNA) – www.eliasmelas.com/gna.htm
(9) Golden Gate Angels – www.ggangels.com/index.html
(10) Granite Ventures – www.granitevc.com
(11) Ladies of Green Building – www.meetup.com/Ladies-of-Green-Building/
(12) Next Level Networking – www.meetup.com/Next-Level-Networking-Visitors-Day/
(13) Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center – www.rencenter.org/
(14) San Francisco Entrepreneur/Investor Network (SFEIN) – www.meetup.com/sfnetwork/
(15) San Francisco & Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Meetup – www.meetup.com/sanfrancisco-entrepreneur/
(16) “Women Business Owner” San Francisco Professional Network – www.meetup.com/WomenBusinessOwner/

In conclusion, Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco are great cities in the process of reinventing themselves and our notion of 21st century sustainable living through their improved transportation systems, traffic signals, parking meters, bike lanes, esplanades, integrated green buildings, smart grid infrastructure, efficient water treatment management and recycling methods – and – I predict that this is where the greatest geographic concentration of tomorrow’s sustainable communities and green entrepreneurs will be located and in turn the greatest reinvention of American jobs.