Green Jobs in Marketing
A truly eco-friendly product is about more than green features; environmentally sustainable factors encompass the product’s entire life cycle. If the company has a corporate social responsibility initiative, the marketing story may also include a description of the social impact of the product on the communities of the suppliers, producers, and end users. This is where an eco-conscious job-seeker with marketing skills can find opportunity in the green economy.
As a new green product or service makes its way to market, the marketing team must work out the best way to brand, package, describe, display, and advertise it. The key ingredient to the marketing in this scenario is describing to potential customers how green the product or service really is. This marketing conversation with the customer may include a description of how the product was produced, where the raw materials came from, how it was packaged and distributed, what can be done with the product at the end of its life, and how energy efficient it is.
Green marketing, also known as environmental or ecological marketing, has been evolving since the early 1980s with Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream and the publication of Green Marketing by Jacquelyn Ottman (2004, BookSurge Publishing). More recently the push toward sustainable green products has raised the stakes on green marketing. Grabbing and keeping the customer’s attention and purchasing dollar has led some companies to stretch the truth or downright lie about the green characteristics of their products and services.
This so-called green-washing by some has put all green marketers under pressure to represent their products and services ethically and honestly. If you want to familiarize yourself with the issues underlying the term, green-washing, visit TerraChoice’s site and click on the Seven Sins of Greenwashing icon. Take some time to study the matrix in this GreenBiz.com article that describes four types of green-washing or the full report they are discussing by Business for Social Responsibility and Futerra Sustainability Communications.
At the same time, one of the biggest challenges facing this industry is the fact that no one is quite sure what constitutes a green product. With no agreed-upon standards, companies are left to their own devices to evaluate their products and determine the best way to communicate their green features. Although some are doing a better job than others, experts are searching for and debating a number of ways to create a consistent standard that is understood by businesses, the government, and consumers:
The Federal Trade Commission has guidelines for those making environmental claims about their products, packaging, and services. The guidelines include a number of case studies that illustrate and apply the guidelines to common terms, including biodegradable, compostable, and recyclable.
The Global Ecolabelling Network recommends a labeling system to assess the life cycle impact of a product or service by using rigorous, scientific standards established by an objective third party. Green Seal and EcoLogo Program are examples of programs that work with companies to ensure that their products and services pass muster.
Others, such as GreenBlue, believe that ecolabeling must be accompanied by transparency in reporting exactly how the product or service impacts the environment.
If you'd like to consider working in green marketing, here are some examples of potential jobs.
Market research: Market research analyst, market intelligence analyst, marketing analyst, data analytics manager, internet marketing analyst, media research analyst
Marketing: Agency account planner, agency account coordinator, agency account executive, marketing director, marketing manager, brand manager, product manager, consumer products manager, e-mail marketing specialist, event planner, direct marketing manager, media buyer, media planner, online marketing manager, online promotions manager, online media buyer, online media planner, search engine marketer, event manager
Communications: Communications editor, communications manager, communications specialist, online publicist, public relations account coordinator, media relations manager, Web content editor, Web content manager
Creative: Animation designer, creative director, art director, copywriter, graphic designer, illustrator, producer, production artist, production manager, user interface designer, multimedia designer, Web designer, instructional designer

Green Careers Glossary
Biomass power; biopower
Biopower creates electric power from organic material such as manure, crops, wood resources and processing residue, food and yard waste, and municipal bio waste. Biomass can be converted to electricity, biofuels, space heating/cooling, or process heat.

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Cleantech; clean energy
Products, processes, and services that depend on renewable energy sources, minimize waste, and use natural resources judiciously.

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Climatologist
Scientist who studies long-term climate variations by looking at past weather data and using complex computer models and datasets to project how various factors such as greenhouse gases, volcanic activity, and solar flares impact our climate.

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Concentrating solar power CSP
Typically used in utility-scale projects, CSP uses a large array of mirrors to focus sunlight onto receivers. As the receivers collect the solar energy, they convert it to heat. Several designs are in use, including a mirrored dish, a power tower with mirrors encircling the tower, and linear trough systems.

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Cradle to cradle model
Production life cycle wherein materials from outdated models become an input to the production process.

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Diverted waste
Waste that doesn’t make its way to landfill because it is reused, recycled, or composted.

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Ecohydrology
Branch of hydrology industry that tackles how organisms interact with water at various stages of the water cycle.

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Ecolabeling
A labeling system to assess the life cycle impact of a product or service.

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Ecological design
Section of ecology that calls upon designers to bring ecological principles into the design projects to conserve energy, reduce toxins, and minimize waste.

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Ecological engineering
Industry that integrates the two fields of ecology and engineering to design, monitor, restore, and construct aquatic and land-based ecosystems in a way that benefits humans and the environment. Applications include creating ecosystems to handle storm water in urban areas or restore community forests or wetland areas.

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Ecotourism
According to the Mohonk Agreement of 2000, ecotourism is tourism that seeks to minimize ecological and sociocultural impacts while providing economic benefits to local communities and host countries.

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Electronic waste; e-waste
Discarded TVs, computers, monitors, printers, scanners, mice, keyboards, and cellphones.

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Environmental education
A process aimed at developing a world population that is aware of and concerned about the total environment and its associated problems, and which has the knowledge, attitudes, motivations, commitments, and skills to work individually and collectively toward solutions of current problems and the prevention of new ones.

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Environmental geography
Branch of geography (the study of earth, including human geography, which refers to the built environment, and physical geography, which consists of the natural environment) which looks at the interactions between humans and the environment in order to understand how the environment is created, managed, and used.

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Environmental meteorologist
Scientist that uses his or her expertise to study and evaluate environmental problems, including climate change, air contaminants, greenhouse gas emissions, fresh water shortages, droughts, and ozone depletion. Environmental meteorologists may be called upon to conduct environmental assessments and prepare environmental impact reports on their findings.

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Environmental science
An interdisciplinary study of the natural environment from a systems point of view.

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Forestry
Broad term used to refer to the management of natural forests, industrial forests, and the other natural resources found within forests.

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Geodesy
Branch of applied mathematics that specializes in measuring the Earth to determine its shape and size.

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Geology
The study of the physical properties of the solid and liquid materials that make up the Earth, their history, and the processes that create and change them.

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Geophysics
The study of the entire Earth as a whole using quantitative instruments and the principles of physics.

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Geosciences; earth sciences
An umbrella term for all the sciences that are devoted to studying the planet. Typically divided into four fields: geography, geology, geophysics, geodesy.

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Geothermal energy
Clean, reliable, renewable resource that taps the heat from the core of the Earth to generate electricity and provide heating and cooling applications. Geothermal energy is divided into three categories: geothermal electricity production, geothermal direct use, geothermal heat pumps.

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Glaciology
Branch of hydrology that focuses on glaciers.

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Green
Generally used as shorthand for something that improves the state of the environment in a discernable way. Can refer to a product, industry, company, job, process, or organization that conserves energy and resources, generates clean, renewable energy, minimizes waste, eliminates hazardous materials, or restores the environment and biodiversity.

Green Careers Glossary
Green economy
The industries that are producing greener products, using cleaner processes, and offering more sustainable services in an effort to move us toward a new standard.

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green marketing; environmental marketing; ecological marketing
Marketing practices that emphasize a company’s corporate social responsibility initiative; the marketing story may also include a description of the social impact of the product on the communities of the suppliers, producers, and end users.

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Green-washing
Marketing practices that lead the consumer to believe that a product or service is beneficial to the planet even though it’s not.

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Holistic land management
Managing their land holistically or sustainably, using a triple bottom line approach that balances financial results, environmental impact, and community impact.

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Hydrogeology
Branch of hydrology that looks at the movement and distribution of groundwater.

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Hydrography
Branch of hydrology that researches the distribution of water.

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Hydrology
Scientific field that assesses the quantity and quality of water by studying the movement of water, the quality of water, and how water is distributed over time and space throughout the Earth. The study includes the biological, chemical, and physical properties of water and how these properties interact with the environment and living organisms during the water cycle.

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Hydrometeorology
Branch of hydrology that examines water as it moves from bodies of water to the atmosphere.

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Industrial ecology
Branch of ecology that incorporates ecological principles into the technological world of manufacturing. The goal within this sub-discipline is to create industrial systems that function much like a natural ecosystem.

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Limnology
Branch of hydrology that tracks inland waters.

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Ocean current energy
Source of energy that takes advantage of strong currents that occur naturally between islands, near headlands, and at the entrances of bays and harbors. Underwater turbines capture the energy created by currents that have a velocity of 5 or more knots.

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Ocean thermocline energy OTEC
Method of energy creation that relies on temperature differences between the warm water on the surface of the ocean and the cold water at deeper depths.

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Rangelands
Unimproved lands with a high proportion of native vegetation that may be marshy, shrubby, grassy, or arid desert.

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Renewable energy
Energy that is derived from resources that are readily available all over the world. The crucial feature of renewable energy is that by tapping into its power, you don’t deplete the resource, nor do you inflict damage on the environment or the planet as a whole.

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Reverse logistics; aftermarket logistics; retrologistics; aftermarket supply chain
All post-sale logistics, from the support call center and field service to refurbishing, recycling, and reusing materials in a product at the end of its life cycle.

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Smart grid
The industry that focuses on how electricity and information are handled from power generation, transmission, and distribution to energy storage and real-time energy management technology are successfully combined, including traditional and new energy sources, within a reliable, secure, efficient infrastructure.

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Supply/distribution logistics; supply chain
The management of a vast network of suppliers spread throughout the world through sophisticated software that allows all the players to understand the supply and demand needs and status.

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Surface hydrology
Branch of hydrology that studies how water moves on the surface of the earth.

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Sustainable
Any sort of practice that does not take more from a source than it can regenerate in a reasonable amount of time. One way to become sustainable is the triple bottom line approach — attending to the economic and social and environmental impacts of our choices.

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Sustainable manufacturing
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the creation of manufactured products that use processes that are non-polluting, conserve energy and natural resources, and are economically sound and safe for employees, communities, and consumers. The goods may have green uses, such as solar panels or green building supplies, or they may be traditional goods produced sustainably, such as toothpaste and carpet tiles.

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Tidal energy
Energy captured and converted to electricity as tidal waters move into and out of a bay.

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Waste-to-energy WTE
Renewable energy model that uses facilities that burn organic and manufactured waste in carefully designed boilers with modern pollution control equipment to scrub the emissions from the burn and maintain precise heat conditions to ensure that all waste matter is combusted completely.

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Wave power
Energy captured from the change in height and speed of ocean waves.

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Wind energy
Energy captured from the wind created as the sun heats different parts of the earth at different rates, and hot air rises and cooler air is drawn in to replace the warmer rising air.