Green movement creates new business, new fields

Derek Sankey,
Canwest News Service
April 25, 2009

An intensifying focus on the environment by employers across Canada is
creating new career and business opportunities.

Some industries, such as accounting, are seeing the positive impact on
their business of tighter environmental measuring, monitoring and
reporting regulations. Additionally, companies are creating dedicated
positions to oversee firms' environmental targets and strategies.

Workers in the traditional environmental sector are also watching their
range of services, and the employees who deliver them, evolve with the
times.

In the financial services sector, some companies are seeing benefits to
their bottom lines by reducing paper use, for instance, while they also
see an emerging area in helping clients become greener.

"As an industry, everyone is looking for what those market opportunities
are right now," says Mario Paron, chief human resources officer for KPMG
LLP.

He says the firm has to walk the walk if it wants to have credibility.
"Every client will automatically ask you ... what you're doing in this
area," says Paron.

KPMG's employees eagerly share with clients how they've integrated an
environmental strategy into their operations.

As one of this year's greenest employers in Canada, as ranked by
Mediacorp, KPMG stands out for launching initiatives such as reducing the
amount of paper used in the office, funding environmental groups and
moving into a new gold-level certified green building this fall in Toronto
under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards.

"Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming increasingly important
to business," says Tania Carnegie, national leader of corporate
citizenship for KPMG, which launched a broad environmental performance
initiative in 2007.

Being a green employer also gives the firm a competitive advantage in
recruiting.

"When [young recruits] are assessing their choices as to what type of
organization they want to be associated with, the entire [CSR] and green
aspects are definitely things they ask us about," says Paron.

Other sectors are becoming aware of the advantages of green initiatives.

Intrawest ULC at Whistler Blackcomb created "environment co-ordinators."
They are dedicated to helping the company reach its goal of being
carbon-neutral by 2010 through such initiatives as building a $32-million
hydroelectric plant inside its ski hill area.

New Flyer Industries Canada ULC also created an environmental co-ordinator
to ensure it meets its own environmental targets, while companies in the
traditional energy business are also contributing to the development of
new green jobs.

Governments are in on the trend, too. Alberta has committed $2-billion to
carbon capture and sequestration technology, while the federal government
has committed $3.4-billion to clean up federally owned sites through the
Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan.

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