Green Jobs in 500 Industries

Looking for a green job? Five hundred (500) industries have them.

Choose your industry supersector from the list below to see the specific industries that have green jobs. A "green job" generally speaking is a job related to preserving or restoring the environment.

Industry supersector list

The downloadable file is divided into 15 supersectors with 2,235 industries. Green industries are shown with examples.

Supersectors	Download the file
Mining (no green jobs) Construction Manufacturing Wholesale Trade Retail Trade Utilities Transp. & Warehousing Information Financial Services Professional Services Education Healthcare (no green jobs) Leisure & Hospitality Other Services Government

Find your industry

Since this file is in Adobe Acrobat, you can use the Find function to search for specific keywords, like solar.

Background

On March 16, 2010, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) published a Federal Register Notice (PDF) that presents the definitions BLS will use in measuring green jobs. The source documents can be found here.

Acronyms

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. USDA denotes the United States Department of Agriculture.

Impact of green jobs ... shown as (I) in the linked pages above

In specifying green goods and services, BLS identified whether a good or service has a discernible positive impact on the environment or natural resources conservation. Some goods and services may have both a positive and a negative impact. They generally fall into the following categories:

1. Renewable energy. [---] Research on and development, production, storage, and distribution of energy (electricity, heat, and fuel) from renewable sources, including hydropower, wind, biomass (including biofuels and biogas), geothermal, solar energy, tidal energy, hydrogen fuel cells, and other renewable sources.
2. Energy efficiency. Research on and development and implementation of energy conservation technologies and practices, including production of energy efficient products, cogeneration, and increasing the energy efficiency of production processes, distribution, construction, installation, and maintenance.
3. Greenhouse gas reduction. Research on and development and implementation of technologies and practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through approaches other than renewable energy generation and energy conservation. Includes generation of electricity from nuclear sources and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in electricity generation from fossil fuels.
4. Pollution reduction and cleanup. Research on and development and implementation of technologies and practices to reduce the emission of pollutants and remove pollutants and hazardous waste from the environment.
5. Recycling and waste reduction. Research on and development and implementation of technologies and practices to collect and recycle materials and waste water.
6. Agricultural and natural resources conservation. Research on and development and implementation of technologies and practices to reduce the environmental impact of agricultural production and improve natural resources conservation, including reducing use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, soil and water conservation, sustainable forestry, land management, and wildlife conservation.
7. Education, compliance, public awareness, and training. Activities to increase public awareness of environmental issues; activities to develop and enforce environmental regulations; and providing training in the application of ‘‘green’’ technologies and practices.

Types of green jobs ... shown as (T) in the linked pages above

BLS has defined four types of green goods and services:

1. Direct green goods and services. [---] A good or service that is produced specifically for the purpose of protecting or restoring the environment or conserving natural resources. (Examples include pollution control equipment and weatherizing buildings.)
2. Indirect green goods and services. Selected goods and services not included in 1 above that are produced for another purpose, but when produced, consumed, or scrapped have a favorable impact on protecting the environment or conserving natural resources relative to other goods or services generally used for the same purpose. (Examples include electricity produced from renewable sources, nonpolluting dry cleaning services, hybrid vehicles, and mercury-free batteries.)
3. Specialized inputs. A good or service that is a specialized input to production of a direct or indirect green good or service included in categories 1 or 2 above. (Examples include USDA approved fertilizers for organic crops, wind turbine blades, and mass transit rail cars.)
4. Distribution of green goods. Services that specialize in distributing green goods included in categories 1, 2, or 3 above, including: (a) Transportation and warehousing services, (b) wholesale and retail trade services, (c) rental and leasing services, and (d) restaurants and food services.