With the world turning its attention to the environment, companies across the country are spending more time focusing on creating and implementing “green” programs and jobs that will make their workplace more environmentally conscious. In fact, one-in-ten employers say they have added “green jobs,” otherwise known as environmentally-focused positions, in the last 12 months, according to a new national survey of more than 2,500 hiring managers by CareerBuilder. The survey was conducted between February 20 and March 11, 2009.
Last week after finding out that The International Federation of Accountants had developed a a Sustainability Framework for Professional Accountants. I wanted to find out what other resources they had for green accountants. I found out that they published two reports that you can download for free. See what they have…
The Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has developed a comprehensive Sustainability Framework to support professional accountants and their organizations in integrating a sustainable way of thinking and working in all business processes. The Framework illustrates how a commitment to sustainability can help to further improve an organization’s products or services, motivate its people, lower its costs and enhance its reputation.
The Institute of Management Accountants Foundation for Applied Research is currently seeking research proposals in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The Foundation for Applied Research is interested in supporting research in the area of management accounting’s involvement with sustainability reporting. Sustainability reporting (triple-bottom line, corporate social responsibility) is reporting by any organization (profit and nonprofit) of economic, environmental, and social performance indicators.
Increased public awareness of environmental issues has forced American industry to address these issues. However, many of these companies resort to greenwashing. Greenwashing is the act of misleading the public regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product, service, or business line. 24/7 Wall St. has put together a list of the Top Ten Greenwashers in America.
Ceres is seeking a small number of dynamic, committed interns who would find it exciting to be at the center of one of the most effective corporate social responsibility groups in the world. Ceres interns support program staff working with a wide variety of constituents within the Ceres network: environmental activists, investors, funders, and corporations. While providing some administrative support, interns will primarily work in one of the following areas using skills in research, project coordination, IT and communications.
Many people in the software industry have heard the buzzword cloud computing. Cloud computing promises to revolutionize how computing is done and huge investments are being made by the major players in the industry to stake out a portion of this sector. The infrastructure that underlies the cloud is a massive energy consumer. What is needed is for the idea of a green cloud to also catch on within the industry. A green cloud is cloud computing that uses intelligent power management and cooling to minimize its energy needs for some given level of service.
Over at JustMeans, Dave Stanis, of the Campbell Soup Company, speculated that based on current trends, carbon accounting will be a growing, in demand, career specialty. He recommends taking classes in carbon accounting. I think he is on to something because Groom Energy has declared 2009 the Year of Enterprise Carbon Accounting and a recent Greenhouse Gas Management Institute study revealed that the industry is suffering from a profound skills shortage. For those of you who have never heard of carbon accounting, it is the accounting undertaken to measure the amount of carbon dioxide equivalents that will not be released into the atmosphere as a result of Flexible Mechanisms projects under the Kyoto Treaty.
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) recently published an online map that identifies and profiles more than 1,200 companies in key manufacturing states that they see as poised create new jobs when Congress passes a cap on global warming pollution. The interactive map spotlights companies located in manufacturing regions, including those in communities in the rust belt and coal country.
