Many business sectors in Minnesota are growing green and becoming more aware of how sustainability is a necessity for their business; see what’s in store for green career opportunities in each sector.

Environmental Education and Training

Environmental education has moved beyond simply teaching students in the school system about environmental issues and instead is now becoming standard practice at many companies and organizations.

• Watch for businesses and corporations hiring third-party sustainability training consultants.

• Some organizations are also hiring consultants to train their employees in environmental issues and eco-literacy.

• With no "one-size-fits-all" training model in place, this field is wide open for training professionals to develop their portfolio of knowledge and expertise that matches an individual company’s needs.

• Check out the National Environmental Education Foundation’s employee education program, The Engaged Organization, that helps companies align day-to-day business operations with environmental issues and sustainability values while also improving their bottom line (http://neefusa.org).

Green Healthcare

Green healthcare jobs will start to grow throughout a multitude of departments including: facilities management, design and construction, environmental purchasing, waste management, clean energy, chemicals management, pest management, and much more.Â

• Watch for hospitals and health center facilities to become more sustainable through more efficient energy use, improved water conservation, better waste reduction methods through reuse and recycling, more sustainable purchasing decisions, and adherence to greener building practices.

• The healthcare industry has a huge carbon footprint, using a tremendous amount of resources to provide care to patients. Pressure to become more sustainable will foster internal and external consultant jobs in green products and practices.

• Check out Practice GreenHealth, the nation’s leading membership and networking organization for institutions in the healthcare community with a commitment to sustainable, eco-friendly practices (practicegreenhealth.org).

Personal Health and Beauty

The debate continues to accurately define what’s natural and what’s organic. As more consumers look for honest clear answers, consumer education will be an important part of any job in this field. There are numerous opportunities to network your way into a job or product partnership.

• Watch for continued rapid growth of the natural personal health and beauty industries. More consumers are now asking for natural and organic ingredients, creating double-digit growth annually in the personal health aids, beauty, health supplements, home cleaning and pet product market sectors.

• Check out Minnesota’s own Organic Consumers Association for a listing of Minnesota green businesses related to personal health and beauty products. You’ll also find industry topics to research and current news and events in the sustainable agriculture field (organicconsumers.org).

Green/Organic Textiles and Fashion

Consumers are pushing for more eco friendly apparel. Increased reports of health problems such as rashes, allergies, respiratory problems and mental focusing difficulties have been attributed to the vast amount of toxic chemicals we are unknowingly exposed to daily from wearing apparel. The organic clothing industry is growing out of a need to reduce this exposure in textiles and fashion apparel.

• Watch the green and organic textile and apparel industry grow while Labeling Ecologically Approved Fabrics™ (LEAF) develops a new centralized eco-labeling system that integrates the current 15 certification systems. The new system should create jobs in the textile supply chain from sustainable/organic materials, manufacturing processes, packaging and distribution to organic apparel design (leafcertified.org).

• Check out Holy Cow Company Headquarters which just opened in Minneapolis. Their mission to create the best clothing on Earth keeps them in search of new partners and vendors making smart choices (holycowcompany.com).