Lean manufacturing practices and sustainability are conceptually similar in that both seek to maximize organizational efficiency. Where they differ is in where the boundaries are drawn, and in how waste is defined. Sustainability expands the definition of waste to include the wider range of consequences of business actions including environmental and social consequences. Lean processes are inherently less wasteful and in this sense promoting lean processes can help organizations become more sustainable.
The Missouri Economic Research and Information Center recently conducted a survey of state businesses, the Green Jobs Report that found that nearly five percent of the state’s total employment, or more than 130,000 job positions, are now part of the green economy sectors. These numbers are also expected to rapidly grow as soon as the general economy begins to recover.
Last week, MSNBC published a list of ten green job industries that show indications of tremendous growth. The article provides an overview about each industry trend, details about where most of the jobs are in these industries, the types of jobs available and resources to use for more information.
CleanTech Los Angeles is a multi-agency collaboration between CRA/LA, Caltech, DWP, JPL, Mayor’s Office, Port UCLA, and USC to establish Los Angeles as the global leader in research, commercialization, and deployment of clean technologies. It brings together groups like the city’s power and water utility, the chamber of commerce, and the universally recognized scientific research heavyweights UCLA, USC and CalTech with the aim to help LA region become a global center of green technology, green jobs and green manufacturing, officials explained. The ultimate goal is a lofty one: to become the global capital of clean technology.
