Green Collar Jobs *NEW*
Overview \
Support Organizations \ Models
& Best Practices
Research Resources \ Articles-Publications
MODELS & BEST PRACTICES
American Indian Housing Initiative (University Park, PA)
www.engr.psu.edu/greenbuild/index.asp
The American Indian Housing Initiative is a collaborative effort to adapt and
deploy sustainable building technologies on American Indian reservations. Founded
in 1998 at the University of Washington and now based at Pennsylvania State University,
the American Indian Housing Initiative integrates courses, research, and outreach
activities to foster mutually beneficial partnerships between universities and
tribal nations. Efforts are currently centered on work with the Northern Cheyenne
Reservation in Eastern Montana. Working closely with tribal leaders, the Northern
Cheyenne Housing Authority, and Chief Dull Knife College, AIHI plans to develop
a sustained program in homeownership and economic development with the Northern
Cheyenne Tribe.
Buffalo Re-Use (Buffalo, NY)
www.buffaloreuse.org
Buffalo ReUse is a not-for-profit organization, established in 2006 in response
to the city of Buffalo’s plans to develop deconstruction as a competitive
alternative to the demolition of abandoned housing stock. There are an estimated
23,000 vacant structures in Buffalo, a city that once housed a half million people,
but whose population is now only 290,000. To date Buffalo ReUse has deconstructed
two entire structures, salvaged more than 25 additional abandoned structures,
and initiated part-time sales of used materials. The group now has a full-time
deconstruction crew and hopes to create a model for other cities that struggle
with similar issues.
DC Greenworks (Washington, DC)
www.dcgreenworks.org/index.html
D.C. Greenworks runs a group of nonprofit social enterprises that train and employ
local "at-risk" youth. D.C. TreeKeepers assists local neighborhoods
that are interested in initiating a community greening project. D.C. RainKeepers
provides rain barrels and training to households interested in disconnecting one
or more rain downspouts from the storm sewer system. D.C. Greenwork’s Green
Collar Job Training Program reaches out to the city’s low-income, ethnically
diverse population to foster new job opportunities and training in the urban forestry,
nursery, and landscaping industries. And D.C. Greenworks’ Low-Impact Development
program offers installation services to local businesses and households, such
as greenroofs and rain gardens.
EBO Group (Sharon Center, OH)
www.ebogroupinc.com
Founded in 1978, the employee-owned EBO Group (which stands for “Excellence
By Owners”) is an engineering firm with 55 employee-owners and $20 million
in annual sales. The company originally developed custom- designed clutches and
brakes, but in recent years has shifted focus to developing more energy-efficient
batteries for plug-in hybrid vehicles and other storage devices that use recyclable
sources of power, such as solar energy.
Ella Baker Center (Oakland, CA)
www.ellabakercenter.org/page.php?pageid=5
The Ella Baker Center, in addition to helping spawn the national support group,
Green for All, has also been a green collar jobs pioneer at the local level. With
$250,000 in seed funding secured from the Oakland City Council in June 2007, the
Oakland Green Jobs Corps is expected to launch in early 2008 and will involve
at least 20 local and regional green employers in the Green Business Council.
Each participating firm will agree to provide internship positions for Oakland
Green Jobs Corps trainees recruited from low-income Oakland city neighborhoods.
Green Worker Cooperatives (Bronx, NY)
www.greenworker.coop/website_j
Green Worker Cooperatives is a South Bronx-based organization dedicated to incubating
worker-owned and environmentally friendly cooperatives in the South Bronx. The
group is currently developing its first cooperative, ReBuilders Source, which
will be a retail warehouse for surplus and salvaged building materials recovered
from construction & demolition jobs.
Growing Home (Chicago, IL)
www.growinghomeinc.org
Growing Home operates a Chicago-based organic agriculture business which grows
produce organically and sells it at local farmers markets. Clients include high-end
Chicago restaurants and individual Chicagoans through a community supported agriculture
(CSA) program. This social enterprise employs and trains homeless and low-income
Chicagoans; since 2002, the nonprofit business has assisted over 100 participants
to transform their lives.
Northwest Sustainable Energy for Economic Development (Seattle, WA)
www.nwseed.org
Northwest SEED works to establish a clean, diverse, and affordable Northwest energy
system based on efficient use of renewable resources, with maximum local control
and ownership of energy asset. The group provides technical assistance for that
projects stimulate local economic development, create jobs, and enhance security,
while creating widespread popular support for and investment in a sustainable
energy system. Efforts to date have included a range of community-owned and tribal-owned
wind, solar, and biomass projects.
Pioneer Valley Photovoltaics Cooperative (Greenfield, MA)
www.pvsquared.coop
Formed in 2002, PV Squared is a worker-owned business providing turnkey renewable
energy system installations at homes, businesses, municipalities, and institutions.
PV Squared custom designs and installs solar electric and hot water systems, small
wind turbine technologies, and micro-hydroelectric facilities.
PrairieFire BioFuels Cooperative (Madison, WI)
www.prairiefirebiofuels.org
PrairieFire is a member-owned cooperative creating access and building infrastructure
to support vegetable oil-based fuel sources and usage. Services offered range
from the sale of biodiesel to technical support for converting diesel vehicles
to run on pure vegetable oil.
The Rebuilding Center of Our United Villages (Portland, OR)
www.rebuildingcenter.org
The ReBuilding Center is a project of Our United Villages, a Portland-based non-profit
community organization. Modeled after successful building material reuse centers
throughout North America (over 500 in the United States and Canada), the ReBuilding
Center opened to the public in 1998 and moved to a 24,000 square foot warehouse
in 1999. By 2001, five tons of materials were being kept out of the landfill each
day. In 2005 The ReBuilding Center completed its expansion project, adding 40,000
square feet of developed property and the potential to divert nearly ten tons
of construction and demolition waste per day by 2008. Today the ReBuilding Center
is the largest non-profit used building materials resource in North America.
The Reuse People (Oakland, CA)
www.thereusepeople.org
The ReUse People is a nonprofit business dedicated to keeping usable building
materials out of landfills and distributing them for reuse. Since 1993, the ReUse
People and its affiliated contractors have deconstructed residential, commercial
and industrial buildings ranging from single-family residences to military housing
complexes and large-scale movie sets. To date, the business has diverted over
210,000 tons of materials from landfills throughout California.
San Francisco Community Power (San Francisco, CA)
www.sfpower.org
San Francisco Community Power is a nonprofit group founded in 2001 with a $1.5
million grant from the San Francisco Department of the Environment. Originally
focused on two low-income neighborhoods — Bayview-Hunters Point and Potrero
Hill—the group provides energy management services to low-income families
and small businesses and trains under- and unemployed individuals to implement
energy conservation measures. Over the past several years, with additional public
funding support, the group has expanded its energy conservation efforts to serve
communities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
Second Chance, Inc. (Baltimore, MD)
www.secondchanceinc.org
Second Chance is a nonprofit enterprise working with residents of Baltimore to
train them in a wide variety of skill sets, ranging from carpentry to craftsmanship.
The group strives to create skilled workers making a living wage with benefits
for themselves and their families. By teaching workers to safely deconstruct a
building without damaging its historic elements, they become self-supporting members
of the community with new skill sets. From its starting operations in Baltimore,
Second Chance has expanded its training program to Philadelphia, PA, and Washington,
DC, and anticipates opening new retail locations in both cities.
Solar Richmond (Richmond, CA)
www.solarrichmond.org
The Richmond Solar Affordable Housing Project installs residential solar electric
systems for low-income Richmond homeowners, including families, seniors and persons
with disabilities. All installation services will be provided free of charge to
the homeowners through installation teams of Youth Works construction trainees
and other community members. The project encourages the use of solar energy throughout
the city, help low-income homeowners reduce their utility bills, and provide Richmond
residents with professional skills on solar technology.
Sustainable South Bronx (Bronx, NY)
www.ssbx.org
Founded in 2001 by South Bronx resident Majora Carter, Sustainable South Bronx
promotes innovative, economically sustainable projects that are informed by community
needs. This work includes “green roof” installation and maintenance,
as well as its Bronx Environmental Stewardship Training program, a ten-week green
collar job training and placement program that has had an 85-percent job placement
success rate.
YSI Inc. (Yellow Springs, OH)
www.ysi.com
Yellow Springs Instruments Company (now YSI Inc.) began operations as a four-person
company in 1948 that produced sensors and related medical instruments. In 1983,
the company was converted to employee ownership. Today, the company has roughly
1,000 employee-owners and its primary business involves the manufacture of water
quality and environmental monitoring applications. YSI actively pursues a “triple
bottom line” of business, social, and environmental performance and tracks
its progress with an annual sustainability report. |