TO GROW GREEN, COMMIT

Study: A green city needs deeper commitment
Diane Mastrull, October 10, 2009 (Philadelphia Inquirer)

"If Philadelphia is to fully capitalize on the business-growth and employment potential of the nascent green economy, a deeper commitment is needed from government, nonprofits, and the private sector…[especially] to train a workforce for these new jobs.

The Emerging Industries Project is a 93-page analysis of three areas of the green economy: sustainable manufacturing, construction and demolition waste recycling, and energy efficiency and building retrofits…Other sectors are planned for future study…to help guide funding that has begun to pour from Washington and Harrisburg to grow sustainable businesses and create jobs…"

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"The research was largely based on input from 40 local businesses looking to thrive in the green economy. The industry sectors highlighted in the study were selected for their growth potential and the likelihood they would create family-sustaining jobs, especially for those who have the most difficulty landing work…

"The report cited deregulation of electricity generation and the increasing affordability of energy-efficiency options as driving business growth in the energy-efficiency/retrofit sector…The city could play a big role in developing a vibrant construction and demolition-waste-recovery industry, the report said, by prioritizing bids for public projects from building contractors [who recycle and]… mandating such recycling for private-sector building and demolition projects."

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"…[Manufacturing] dominated the report…While the city has lost 400,000 manufacturing jobs over the last four decades…[its manufacturing] infrastructure [is among] the assets that position Philadelphia to catch "this wave of green manufacturing at the forefront."

"What the city lacks, the report found, is a workforce adequately prepared for green-economy manufacturing…[F]actories of the green economy will be required to produce highly specialized products for such things as solar panels and wind turbines requiring sophisticated equipment and processes and well-trained employees…In addition to calling for the creation of more workforce development programs, [the report calls for]…Changing city procurement policies…Growing and finding ways to connect local supply and demand markets…[and] Establishing a "green clearinghouse" of resources…"