Faisal El-Azzouzi is Solar Construction Manager for GRID Alternatives, which is a non-profit organization that provides renewable energy services to lower income families. And just because they are non-profit, it does not mean that all of their workers are volunteers, they also offer jobs to qualified individuals. Their job board is located here. When job hunting, don’t forget to check out large companies like Home Depot, or Canadian Tire in Canada, as these large scale companies look for people to help install solar panels.

One very important thing that an energy auditor does is inspect for heat loss. Simply stated, energy auditors improve the energy efficiency of a home or business which in turn saves the home or building owner money. Energy conservation is something that should be on the mind of every home owner. Having an energy improvement plan is not asking a lot. Providing each and every person an informed choice with regards to energy and cost savings is what energy auditors do best.

A list of the company’s reasons for performing an ECO-audit:

1. Improve air quality
2. Reduction of business and household waste
3. Provides easy access to local green products and services.

The ECO-audit consists of the following; an interview, an audit of the premises, a report with suggestions for improvements as well as on-going support. Along with audits of homes and businesses, the company offers a wide range of audits such as: baby audits, pet audits and diet audits. Their goal is to help improve all areas of one’s life to becoming the most sustainable as possible.

Educate Yourself

Learn as much as you can about living a green lifestyle and become an expert in the field of greening a home. How can one do this? Take a course and then start with your own home. Take the initiative to talk with people interested in greening their lives. You do not have to be part of a large company to be a green business consultant. Have a passion to green people’s lives and maybe with experience and knowledge, and by acquiring ‘know-how’, you too can become a green business consultant. Start off small by greening homes and small businesses that are interested in becoming environmentally friendly . Target businesses that cater to sustainability. Ask yourself how could those businesses become more green themselves.

People are becoming more environmentally conscious, and they might not have the time or knowledge to change their home or business, but you do. Use your expertise and start your own green business by becoming a consultant in greening people’s private and professional lives. Hats off to ECO-audit for starting a home based green business that provides services to help people become more environmentally responsible.

Clothing made from organic material is becoming very popular. I often visit local farmers’ markets in my city, and the amount of booths dedicated to selling clothes made from environmentally friendly materials has at least doubled in the past year, in my estimation. One such business that I stumbled across at a farmers’ market is Monkey 100. Their t-shirts are made from 70% bamboo and from 30% cotton. All of the t-shirts come with an environmentally conscious message. Environmentally friendly gift-baskets are also exploding. Fill them with organic and ethical facial creams, soaps made from goat’s milk, or flowers and organic fruits – just use your imagination. After coming up with the perfect idea for a small green business it could be challenging to find a place where to sell. The key is a farmers’ market.

Farmers’ Markets

I am truly shocked how farmers’ markets are booming in my area. I hope they are growing in all areas of your city too because they do offer a wonderful opportunity to sell many things that can be made at home. If your city doesn’t have a farmers’ market, maybe that is an opportunity in and of itself – start a farmers’ market. My local farmers’ market operates from a community center parking lot. If you decide to try to sell your wares at a farmers’ market what should you sell? You could become a prepared food vendor. Use organic and ethically produced ingredients to create hearty and nutritious food. You could sell preserves, such as peaches. The vendor that sells his own jams and jellies always has a line-up in front of his tent. There is an amazing woman who sells pies. I have seen massage booths set up at farmers’ markets too. A 10 minute massage for $10 is what they charge in my neighborhood. One station is dedicated to fixing bicycles. That vendor has a steady stream of customers, as many people arrive by bicycle, and require of a quick tune-up for that eco-friendly mode of transportation. The bicycle specialist fulfills a very important and in-demand service. Coffee and tea vendors provide a cup of joe or two for people in need of a pick me up while they shop and browse in the markets.

I guess my point here is that large, urban centers are the growth areas for farmers’ markets. Just by simple observation, one can see that people are willing to pay a little more for some organic tomatoes grown in and around their neighborhood. Just a quick note about the farmers’ markets that I attend, all of the sellers of the goods are also the producers. You get to meet that lady who baked that peach pie, or the man who has his own honey producing bees and sells the honey at farmers’ markets throughout my city. Start small with those crafts by selling them at farmers’ markets. At the very least you will meet some wonderful people with many of the same ideologies that you have.

I’d like to end this article with a question. If you were going to start green business, what would it be?

An interesting fact that not many people look to can be found in Google Trends. Scanning the number of web searches using the keyword term ‘green jobs’ reveals a major jump in the year 2008. By reviewing the graph below one can see a leap in search queries for ‘green jobs’ from the end of 2007 to the start of 2008 – unscientific perhaps, but it does illustrate the point that people who are looking for a new career are adapting to the times and are searching a job market that barely existed a few short years ago. The importance of the web in searching for new careers has dramatically increased over the past few years. Google has been keeping track of search term queries since 2004, only four short years ago. What has caused this dramatic increase in search queries? Perhaps the answer lies in the average persons vocabulary. How long has the term ‘green jobs’ been apart of our everyday conversation? Personally, I only heard of the term no more than two years ago. As the green job market has expanded so has my knowledge and use of such terms. I suspect that most people can say the same. Where does one start on their journey to find a green jobs?

Job Boards

Advertising green jobs on the internet has sprung up and can easily be found. One of my favorites, though I have yet to mention in previous posts, can be found at AlternativeEnergyNews.info. This website has been one of my all time favorites, and their job board is a great resource. The site also has a chat room, so networking is also an option at Alternative Energy News. The key is to get out there, talk, surf the web, go to chat rooms in websites that focus on green energy and other sites that offer environmentally friendly products and services.

An example of a job that would be categorized as green job can be found at Toyota. The company is looking for a Fuel Cell Vehicle Planner. One of the listed qualifications of the position is the candidate must have a strong interest in energy or alternative fuels fields. This job opportunity would not have existed a few years ago, now car companies like Toyota are scouring the nation to fill this wonderful position.

The Future

The Political Economy Research Institute from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst have created an extensive report documenting the incredible machine that is the green economy. The gist of the report states that if investments were targeted to the greening of America two million new jobs would be created. The potential for massive growth is present but investment is needed to speed up the process. You can view the entire PDF report by clicking the report’s cover below.

It is a pleasure to watch someone speak about green business with such eloquence. Well Done, Ms. Kennedy.

If you would like to watch the full 90 minute discussion click here.