Many people who come into green roles at businesses have MBAs from good schools and a track record working on issues related to the environment. So they maybe come from a nonprofit background, working for an organization like the Natural Resource Defense Council where they're actually doing something that is giving them an expertise that can then be used within the organization. Or maybe working for TransFair on issues related to Fair Trade coffee. So, those experiences provide a good subject experience and introduction to a lot of issues that can be really relevant to a company.

In some cases, I think they just look for people who have a background and a track record of doing things that show a commitment and a passion toward environmental issues. Maybe they've taken some classes in school or they've been volunteering on a campus greening initiative, or they've gotten involved in some local programs related to creating a more sustainable city or hosting a green expo-type event. All of those types of experiences I think reflect an interest and a commitment really to learning about the topic that it is going be attractive to an employer.

TH: O.K. Now you talked about looking internally at existing employees who maybe have a passion or a commitment to green issues. Say if I work for a company that has no experience with environment or with sustainability, or my position has no experience the environment or sustainability, how do I go about getting permission to take on these issues or incorporating them into my job description? What are some easy wins that would allow me to do more?

FM: Well, the first thing, maybe raise your hand and say, "I'd like to head up an office greening initiative." So, bring together a group of people internally and assess where the opportunities are. What are the quick hits to address some of the opportunities internally to create a more environmentally sound organization? That might be – that might involve looking at your paper policy: how much paper's being wasted, what type of paper are you using?

It might be looking at energy use. Are people turning off their computers at the end of each day? Are there some easy programs we can put in to reduce the amount of energy we're using? It might look at your purchasing program. Who are our vendors and suppliers? What are they doing? How can we shift to a set of suppliers that are gonna be greener?

TH: Say I want to position myself five to 10 years from now, what do I want to be doing, studying, or thinking about now to prepare for those green jobs of the future? What are the green jobs of the future?

FM: Well that's an interesting question. It's almost starting to get into science fiction. I think that the green jobs of the future, a lot of them relate to: How do we reduce waste? How do we reduce energy? How do we do things without fossil fuels? How do we do things without emitting toxic emissions into the air, into the Earth? So, in many respects I think those are kind of some of the key opportunities. And those are the products that a lot of companies are working on now, people are thinking about now.

So in terms of positioning yourself for that, again it kind of depends on where you want to be and what you want to do. Do you want to be on the technical end, developing these products and services, really thinking through the science of them? Do you want to be on a marketing side and helping promote them, getting them out there in the public consciousness? Do you want to be in a different role? Do you want to be covering them, a journalist perhaps?

So there are lots of different avenues for you to go. To position yourself for that role now, it's looking at where do you want to be, and then working back. What are the skills to get there? So, if you want to be a CEO of a company or have a startup, you'd probably be advised to get an MBA or get a lot of experience in startups now. Start trying to find some jobs at startups, get involved in networking groups that are going to bring together CEOs and other entrepreneurs.

If you want a role in the science side and the technical side and you're in school, you probably want to spend a lot of time in engineering classes, science classes. See if you can get into a program that has a good green chemistry teacher or someone who's looking at how to do things without using toxic materials.

TH: Going back to an earlier question, what advice would you give to employers in terms of what should companies be doing to attract the best talent in this area?