What is a green job anyway?

The environmental movement has always struggled to make the language it uses clear and compelling. For instance, a good half of my grey hair has been caused by sitting through tedious debates about the meaning of the word sustainability. To no avail as the word is tagged on to virtually anything to give it a feel good factor - what exactly is a sustainable airport?

The latest vague feel good term wafted around like a cheap perfume is Green Jobs. I think the Government is using it to cover low-skill work that has environmental benefit - such as installing loft insulation. However, at an evening event I went to on Tuesday it is clear that many companies have a different interpretation.

The skill shortages they envisage in a low carbon economy are far more complex requiring people who can operate collaboratively, who can make varied and complex connections and who can make bold and difficult decisions. The companies will be meeting again to further refine their thinking. Anything that provides greater clarity in the area of future skill needs will be very useful.

The Sex Industry

Another favourite environmental term is mainstreaming. I have heard numerous greenies dismiss the whole CSR agenda because it treats environmental issues as a tag-on to corporate business. Ironically a number of large financial companies have recently cut or slashed their CSR teams arguing that they have mainstreamed environmental thinking into their core business - which is largely complete rubbish and is simply a cost-cutting exercise.

There was an unusual example of mainstreaming this month when a German brothel introduced a policy of providing a discount for customers who cycled or walked on the basis that it is better for the environment and cut parking congestions.

The story reminded me of the nervousness with which the environmental movement handles stories connected to the sex industry. One pressure group had a massive internal debate as to whether it should take money from the fuck for forests website. Whilst the press office of another had no idea how to respond to a journalist who asked whether they supported the concept of recycling silicon breast implants.

China

On Thursday the issue of language was again to the fore when I was asked to give a presentation to Chinese Ministers and officials who were in the UK on a fact-finding mission. The whole presentation was translated and it felt slightly comical as my relatively short sentences turned into epic monologues.

Most of the previous presentations had been around technological and policy solutions, my role was to describe the lifestyle initiatives that can support these other activities. Whilst accepting that lifestyle change was important the delegation was at a complete loss as to why Government couldn't simply instruct people to change.

It reinforced my belief that with their authoritarian approach the Chinese will quickly reduce carbon emissions when they decide it is important. Other fast-developing democratic countries such as India will struggle.

Pledges

Another favourite environmental concept is pledging. Many organisations ask people to make a pledge to do something and then count the environmental benefit assuming that these pledges are turned into action. If this really happened the climate crisis would have been solved many years ago.

The latest pledge campaign is 10:10 which is asking people to cut their emissions by 10 per cent in 2010. I wonder how many people will turn their pledge into actual action so I have decided that I will write-up my attempts to hit the target in my blog. Next week I will start by measuring my current carbon footprint highlighting how I plan to do this and the difficulties that I encounter.

Trewin Restorick is chief executive of environmental charity and advisory body Global Action Plan

This article first appeared on his weekly blog Trewin Says