Will 2010 be the breakout year for green business?
My goodness, I certainly hope so!
Many of us thought that 2009 was going to be the year for green business, because President Obama won his landslide election partly on a pro-green business platform.
But like many things in politics, the Law of Unintended Consequences became an irrepressible force: the official unemployment rate hit 10 percent (while the unofficial out-of-work estimate spiked to 17 percent); thousands of businesses closed and millions of mortgages foreclosed; and the health care debate nearly deadlocked the 111th Congress.
With so many Americans paying singular attention to all the bad news that has been reported, in 2009, the share that identified global warming as a serious threat dropped by nearly half. What is more, President Obama’s approval rating slipped below 50 percent. Understandably so, Americans are jittery and impatient.
Some navel-gazers have already dubbed 2010 “2009.2″ But I am not aligned with such pessimists. I believe 2010 will be the year we pull out of the trough.
Here are some indicators (causal or anecdotal) that may signal a return to economic stability, and most-importantly, the growth of the green business sector:
- American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funding for green business has reached very few targeted projects. But I believe ARRA funds will, during the first six months of 2010, flow more-readily to green businesses;
- More traditional companies and organizations will embrace sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Their budgets for energy efficiency will continue to rise. And the number of professional training and career-development opportunities offered by such companies and organizations will increase, significantly;
- The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has indicated that patent applications for green and clean technology will now be fast-tracked. As a result, more companies will invest many millions of dollars in the development of green and clean intellectual property;
- Seeking a way to mitigate double-digit unemployment, many states may offer new business development funding for green tech and clean tech enterprises and start-ups. We may even see a bidding war between states vying for renewable energy and conservation technology businesses;
- Expect a spike in hiring for green industry-focused sales and business development executive talent. GOOD NEWS: that is an indicator I am already seeing. Similarly, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2003 recession, executive recruitment specialists saw spikes in activity that ultimately led to more wide-scale and sustained executive hiring.
For me, 2010 is a glass that is definitely more than half-full. And for all of you eager to embark on an executive career in green business, the future looks very bright.
Here’s wishing you all a Safe and Happy New Year!
2010: BRING IT ON!
I WANT TO BE A GREEN SUIT! I have been a marketing executive for 10 years, but want to work in the renewable energy industry or some other green industry.
And yes, I think you are right. 2010 will be a turnaround year.
This is a great website. Keep up the great work.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by dan smolen, The Green Suits. The Green Suits said: Will 2010 be the breakout year for green business? We think so. New post on http://www.thegreensuits.com http://bit.ly/88ZRiC [...]
Do you really think that the green job market will improve this year? I hope it does. Whether or not it does, I still plan on buying Tailoring the Green Suits. I am eager to change my career path with a new job and help the Earth at the same time.
Yes, I remain very hopeful about the job market in general and the green business executive job market in particular. I think that 2010 is going to be a year of great improvement in the economy and on the executive employment front.
And I appreciate your excitement about my book Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy. I will update this site with new details (as they happen).
Be well!
D
What affect do you think the loss of Kennedy’s Senate seat will have on the future of green business?
You pose an interesting and timely question.
Yesterday, the special election in Massachusetts, to fill the late U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy’s seat, was held. And, to the surprise of many in that bluest of blue states, the winner was a little-known Republican State Senator named Scott Brown.
U.S. Senator-elect Brown will become the first Republican to hold that seat since 1953, when then U.S. Sen. John F. Kennedy was sworn-in.
Massachusetts special-election voters may not have been thinking about green business when they cast their ballots. But their decision to elect a conservative Republican to “the Kennedy seat” most certainly impacts all of the programs that President Obama and Democrats in Congress support, including: renewable energy projects, green tech, clean tech, and so-called green jobs.
From a political standpoint, yesterday’s special election result struck national Democrats like cloud-to-ground lightning. They have lost their filibuster-proof super majority of 60 seats.
But from business standpoint, I don’t think that green business will be impacted. From IBM to Wal-Mart, leading companies are leading the green business charge.
Businesses are going green because doing so makes good business sense.
What is uncertain is how long will it take before the green economy picks up speed.
But as I mentioned in my earlier post, I have high hopes for 2010. I think we’re going to make a lot of progress on the green business front, this year. And hopefully, very soon, lots of high-paying green business executive jobs will follow.
Maybe now, green energy and green jobs will be less about politics and more about getting people back to work, quickly. This should not be a Democratic Party or Republican Party priority. It should be an American priority.
So to you, Kwame, and the rest of The Green Suits out there, I say…GET READY!
[...] About Politics: Green Business is Here to Stay Yesterday, I received a comment to an earlier post. The commenter, Kwame, referenced the special election to fill the late Ted Kennedy’s seat in [...]
[...] I received a comment to an earlier post. The commenter, Kwame, referenced the special election to fill the late Ted Kennedy’s seat in [...]
[...] And certainly, I looked forward to 2010 with great hope that it would be the breakout year. [...]