Green Jobs: Potential in the Auckland Region

Abstract

The move to a more sustainable economy requires us to rethink how our current economy and society operates within a dynamic environmental and cultural setting. The concept of 'green jobs' is a relatively new means of classifying jobs with environmentally beneficial outcomes, and a methodology was developed under a joint project o f the United Nations Environment Programme, International Labour Organisation and International Trade Union Confederate in 2008 to measure green jobs. Employment indicators show the type o f activities within an economy, they link industry and businesses to communities and individuals. Tracking employment shifts across industries and sectors reveal structural changes in an economy's composition. Tracing business and workers' practices within those industries reveal changes in behaviour - toward more sustainable practices or otherwise. This paper explores the concept of green jobs and its relevance to the Auckland labour market. It measures the number of green jobs in the Auckland region, using a regional input-output model of the Auckland economy. This is the first attempt in using this methodology to quantify green jobs.