When we consider two of the three legs of the sustainable development stool, we really are positioned to make wonderful progress environmentally and economically with the onset of the projected 1.3 million new jobs annually in the green collar sector. Yes, it will take time, financial resources, access to new technologies, and the human element engagement, but the potential is incredible. In both Peter Senge and Thomas Friedman's new books, they write about the societal transition from the industrial age that is currently underway and introduce the potential relating to sustainable development and clean business in the 21st Century. There will always be extremists on both sides of the equation, pessimists that see only the problems, troubles and cost involved, and a population of our generation and the next the sees the potential and leverages the opportunity both for the sake of a greater good and personal growth. Aside from being the eternal optimist myself, I've noticed increasingly more people stepping over to the greener side in the last 12-months. Regardless of your individual position, that’s good news for all of us .I'm glad to be part of the populous that feels the need to be part of the solution. The key for observers is getting the right skills and knowledge to participate in this journey. Or they can sit this one out.

Magaret Price
Green Supply Chain.org

I think the major flaw in the thinking of green jobs vs. a typical jobs is that being green will be the cost of entry of most companies in America within the next 5-10 years. The majority of Fortune 500 companies have sustainability directors and are changing their production methods, their purchasing strategies and enforcing other pro-green policies.It is a mistake to think that larger firms will merely sit on the sidelines while the green revolution is happening. They are certainly in tune with what is going on and will be the catalyst for major green shifts -- whether it is through innovation or through purchases of smaller firms. Green is not a trend or a fad. The green revolution is here and it will continue to grow in force and the entire workplace will become involved in the green movement to some degree. It will no longer be just a segment of the workforce, just as high tech has grown in scale whereby nearly every small to medium sized company now has an IT department. Perhaps every medium to large firm will soon have its own Green Department to oversee environmental decisions, from waste reduction to vendor relations to fuel consumption.
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www.greenspotblog.com
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Robert Piller is President of EcoMarketingSolutions.com, which helps companies promote their brand and image at trade shows and in direct mail with environmentally-friendly imprinted promotional products that won't end up in landfills.

I am an Indian who works in the UK and would like to present my perspective to this article. I have been fascinated with the amount of attention that green opportunities command in the Western pres. However I am perplexed why back home (for me at least:-), no one seems to be really worrying about the environment or the consequences that rapid growth in the economy will have on the environment. I am aware that this very same lack of awareness in the Indian subcontinent could actually be a hidden opportunity for an entrepreneur.

But here's where I also find myself puzzled by all that I read about in the green space from a western perspective. It seems to boil down to economics - of how to make money from the green opportunity. It does not appear to be about seriously cutting down on a consumerist lifestyle which is based on producing billions of items that people dont need but are convinced through slick marketing into impulse buying. At the risk of sounding too socialistic, I do feel that rather than tackle only the symptoms, one must address the root causes - why does one need to shop so recklessly for clothes and shoes one may not always need, why buy so much food only to throw it away, why spend so much on producing arms when the cost of one fighter aircraft could foot the food, water and medical bills for a 100 poor villages in Asia or Africa for a year....I could go on and on. And by the way, this state of affairs is not just in the West - with globalisation, everyone seems to be adopting a consumerist lifestyle that in effect means we are consuming the earth's resources at more than 2-3 times the replenishment rate of the eco-system. Its only going to get worse as China, India and other countries get 'Tescoed & Walmarted'

I wonder which CEO will ever accept a recommendation that his or her company should look beyond just growth in quarterly earnings and actually reduce their carbon footprint by removing those prodcuts that are the most wasteful to produce or responsibly recycle the products they have already sold into the market (cradle to cradle) or even diversify from producing only goods to providing services. Therefore, in closing I want to say that though I liked the ideas for businesses in Jonathan Porritt's book 'Capitalism for the Future', I am not sure if moving to simpler lifestyles where lesser consumption in all aspects of one's life will ever become the mantra of green business. I dont see more than lip service paid to sustainability - the focus is ONLY about how to do more with less without addressing the root cause - WHY cant we do more with OUR LIVES with MUCH LESS in the first place (I mean per capita consumtion of petroleum products, energy, perishable goods, white / luxury goods, air travel, consumables and so on - all the stuff that is choking the environment and consuming valuable natural resources to produce).

Thanks for reading this patiently and apologies if it rambled on - I hope I managed to make my point!
Ravi Gopal