Department of Workforce Development Secretary Roberta Gassman said, “A key driver of economic success in Wisconsin, today and into the future, is a workforce trained and ready to take advantage of clean energy jobs.”  We all know that a green economy means thousands of new jobs in emerging technologies.

It also means new environmental incentives for existing businesses. These factors put new demands on existing positions within businesses to understand and implement sustainability initiatives. 

Yet instead of gearing up for the wave that’s coming, we’re spending a lot of time debating the number of green jobs that are likely to be created in the future.   What will they be? By when? How many? Where? How can I get one? How will I know a green job when I see it?

The problem is, we’re debating the wrong issue. There are no green jobs. A green job is like a math job; every job is a math job. And every job is a green job. We need to step back from this conversation to focus on the real issues: new skills, new competencies and a new world view.

Understanding the intersections of the systems at work — natural systems, social systems and business systems — is critical to every aspect of how we live and work. For instance, if we recognize and understand that the Earth is a closed system, then we must look at manufacturing very differently; we must look at the making of stuff (whatever it might be) as a loop and not as a line. The manufactured product, all of its byproducts and every bit of the waste is ours to keep forever. We inhale it, we drink it, we walk on it and we eat it in one form or other. Short of resettling on Mars, we cannot escape it.

Green economy skills—or more appropriately the green economy literacy—must include this “systems understanding” of the world in which we live. As we grapple with the consequences of our past consumptive practices and try to adjust our future practices to be less destructive of our children’s futures, we have to understand how the world — in the fullest meaning of that term — works.

The most innovative companies in Wisconsin are ahead of the curve.  Companies such as Johnson Controls, Alliant Energy, Kohl’s Department Stores and Sacred Heart Hospital are leading the way in business sustainability. These companies recognize that there are core competencies essential to functioning in the new sustainable economy where the Triple Bottom Line is the new measure of business success.  But how do employers find employees with these skills?

Education is just beginning to develop curricula that help people acquire these new skills and this new literacy. The University of Wisconsin launched an online bachelor of science in sustainable management, http://sustain.wisconsin.edu/, last fall. It focuses on thinking in terms of natural, social, and economic systems.  For employees who have a degree but recognize the need to retool, there are also two Sustainable Management certificates.  These are a great start. A few other universities have also begun to incorporate sustainability principles into their curricula. However, we have only begun to think this way, and the world around us is changing much faster than we would like.

The future of the country will be heavily dependent on its ability to compete in the green economy, and nearly all sectors will be impacted. What is also evident is that this is a very dynamic and rapidly evolving area so the degree and its eventual graduates will have to be nimble, flexible, and highly multidisciplinary.

Energy will not get cheaper.  Water will not suddenly become plentiful.  The planet will not suddenly cool.  Carbon has become currency and water is not far behind. 

We all must not just understand this concept, but live it. That’s not a green job.  It’s everyone’s job.

David Schejbal is dean of Continuing Education, Outreach and E-Learning at the University of Wisconsin-Extension.