July 20, 2011

Green job growth to skyrocket

JESSICA KRIPPENDORF

correspondent

Clarity and better training will be essential if the construction industry wants a piece of the green job pie that is expected to boost the Canadian economy over the next five years.

According to ECO Canada, a human resource organization focused on environmental jobs, growth in the Canadian “green” sector is expecting significant growth over the next few years.

About 17 per cent of Canadian employers have at least one environmental professional on staff, which amounts to 682,000 positions throughout the country.

In B.C., the sector accounts for 166,000 direct and indirect full-time equivalent jobs as of 2010, equaling 7.2 percent of total provincial employment.

The industry includes 28 sectors and sub-sectors, and is expected to generate as much as $27 billion for the province by 2020, according to Vancouver’s Globe Foundation.

Grant Trump, CEO of ECO Canada, said growth in the green sector is mainly the result of a shift involving the “greening” of existing jobs because of a change in the environment or practices they involve.

“It is more of a redistribution and reallocation of environmental skills and knowledge to a broader sector of the economy,” he said. “This is happening, not just in Canada, but worldwide.”

Gil Yaron, senior business and policy advisor for Lighthouse Sustainable Building Centre said that two main areas of green focus in construction are building operations and demolition.

There are about 450,000 institutional and commercial buildings in Canada, consuming $17 billion in energy costs and producing 26 per cent of the country’s GHGs.

A “Building Operators Scoping Exercise,” a concerted effort between ECO Canada, the Construction Sector Council, NRCAN, BOMA and a number of private sector firms, identified the need for consistent regulation and certification for building operators.

“Buildings are becoming more sophisticated and operators have to be trained up,” said Yaron.

The report indicates that turning building operation into an apprenticed trade is a feasible option.

Canada’s building operators are typically men and women from janitorial backgrounds, or coming from skilled trades like electricians, HVAC or plumbing.

The report suggests a certification program with a heavy emphasis on computerized technology and systems integration.

“They also require education in terms of how to deal with tenants and energy efficiency,” he said.

Studies indicate that as much as 70 per cent of a building’s energy use is dependent on occupancy usage.

In demolition, said Yaron, there is a strong desire to move away from demolition and move towards building deconstruction, where materials are salvaged rather than taken to the landfill.

Driven more by the residential sector, building deconstruction takes more time and effort, but responds to caps placed by municipalities on the volume of construction waste acceptable at landfill sites.

“Across the country construction waste is huge and governments are always looking for ways to incent its diversion,” he said.

“With that comes the development of a deconstruction consultant, which could result in more jobs and an additional phase in the construction process.”

George Gritziotis, executive director of the Construction Sector Council, said that ambiguity in the industry between “green” and “sustainability” is a key issue more important than quantifying the demand for green jobs.

“In construction we are looking at what we are talking about when we say ‘green’ versus ‘sustainable’?,” he said.

“What it means for industry, the ambiguity surrounding the term ‘green,’ is a characteristic of the newness of green.”

He cited a recent “Trends in Demand” survey completed by the Construction Sector Council, in which residential and commercial contractors were asked if they believe the market for green building will continue to grow. Twenty five per cent said yes, 38 per cent said no, but they intend to work green factors into their businesses, and almost 36 per cent didn’t know or didn’t have plans to move in that direction.

When asked what “green” means, the responses varied and included energy efficiency, reduction of emissions, water reduction, use of sustainable materials and consumption of alternate energies such as solar power.

“What we’re seeing is a lot of education required in contractors and skills trades around the green building,” said Gritziotis.

“A heavy equipment operator that breaks ground is a heavy equipment operator, but if they are working on a contaminated site are they doing a ‘green’ job?”

The survey also pointed to gaps in general awareness and with regard to green practices.

Close to 50 per cent of respondents said they had no knowledge of green practices, and the other 50 per cent said they have some.

“That tells you there is some knowledge out there for some, and none for others,” said Gritziotis.

Respondents said there aren’t enough training courses for skilled trades, there is a lack of understanding around building science and other technical aspects, too much ‘greenwashing’ exists, as does an abundance of inaccurate information.

“At the end of the day, users of this stuff are saying it’s a good thing but they need clarity around it,” Gritziotis said.

“Having one platform to respond to would make it much easier.”

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