Wearing Green Collars: Companies of various kinds are trying to use the craze
of “going green” to their advantage, including recruiting top employees. The
present obsession with “green” energy even is spawning jobs. According to the
American Solar Energy Society, the renewable industry generated 8.5 million new
“green collar” jobs in the U.S. in 2006 alone—a stunning figure that the
organization projects could grow to as many as 40 million jobs by 2030.
Some “green” energy companies are putting their high-minded environmental
principles behind new employee benefits. According to an article in Renewable
Energy World magazine, these companies view environmental-related employee
benefits as a new tool in the arsenal for attracting and retaining top talent.
The article recounts some of the employee offerings extended by Green Mountain
Energy in Austin, Texas, whose “employees have increased productivity through
working conditions such as [improved] natural daylight and efficiently
maximizing office space.” Also, on Earth Day “a sustainable gift is given to
each Green Mountain employee, educational programs are presented and a free
buffet lunch is provided,” after which employees “enjoy an exhilarating hike
through idyllic hill country.”
Another company, KACO Solar, is cited because it “encourages morning group
workouts, subsidizes gym memberships and grants time off for marathons.” The
article’s author, Dawn E. Dzurilla of Gaia Human Capital Consultants, posits
that such green benefits will take on increasing importance as recruiting tools,
“especially in attracting talent from outside the renewable market.”
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