Creating 'green collar' jobs: Massachusetts groups striving for stronger position in environmental market

Merrimack Valley

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June 1, 2008

By Bill Kirk

Late last year President Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act, which aims to increase fuel efficiency for vehicles and reduce greenhouse gases by setting new standards for buildings, appliances and lighting.

Also in 2007, the federal Green Jobs Act was approved, allocating $125 million for job training and creating new green-manufacturing jobs.

Meanwhile in Massachusetts, Gov. Deval Patrick and House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi have been promoting their own green initiatives, which would dedicate $100 million over the next five years to clean-energy research and business development.

Private businesses also have jumped in, with venture capital outfits funding clean technology companies at record rates in the state.

Environmental technology and jobs, it seems, are all the rage.

But some area business leaders say that the United States in general and Massachusetts in particular are playing catch-up and that the real leaders in the environmental jobs and technology wave are in Europe. And in this country, they say, states like California, Vermont and even Connecticut lead Massachusetts in funding green-tech companies and creating 'green-collar' jobs.

"There are so many things we could be doing that we aren't doing," said Mark Guay, a Newburyport attorney who recently took part in a panel discussion on sustainable economic development at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill. "Look at Europe. What we call green innovation, they call compliance with the law."

Two years ago, Guay co-founded Seacoast Energy and Environmental Design, a grassroots group devoted to finding alternative, clean solutions to the area's energy and environmental challenges.

Since the first meeting with about a dozen people, the group has grown to 200 members and frequently co-hosts conferences with area business organizations. The group also joined forces with the Merrimack Valley Economic Development Council to help promote the region as a welcoming place for green technology companies.

It's not just that the United States is behind Europe, Guay said, but that Massachusetts is lagging behind other states in making public investment in green technology.

"The key states are ahead of us, like California or Vermont," he said. "But we're getting going here."

Quincy Vale, president and CEO of PowerHouse Enterprises, a Lawrence company that designs environmentally friendly modular homes, said in the past, former Gov. Mitt Romney "said the right things" but didn't back up his words with funding. Gov. Patrick's administration, however, "gets it. Patrick has shown a lot more action," Vale said.

The real story, Vale said, is that the federal government under Bush has done little to encourage environmental investment and innovation.

"We are far behind the rest of the world," he said. "There's been no national leadership. We spend $4 billion a month fighting a war in Iraq. That money could have been used to build 500 megawatts of photovoltaic electricity (solar panel) installations, which would be comparable to a medium-sized natural gas power plant. If we'd been doing that all these years, we'd be a world leader and would have all kinds of green technology jobs."

Niki Tsongas, D-Mass., one of the hosts of the May 19 event in Haverhill, said, "There is no denying we need an energy revolution. It's not just the impending threat of global warming. It's people being forced to choose between food and gas."

She said that while the country needs a strong national energy policy, the private sector is moving ahead with innovations even without government help.

She also noted that concerns by business leaders that the state is behind other states in green investment shows "the competitive nature" of Massachusetts businesses.

Guay agreed, saying competition in this arena is healthy, as it prompts companies and government leaders to try to stay ahead of the curve.

"Let's stop looking out the rear-view mirror," he said, "and start looking through the front windshield."

Bob Halpin, executive director of the Merrimack Valley Economic Development Council, said the private sector is pushing the envelope when it comes to green technology.

He said Massachusetts is the No. 2 state, behind California, in venture capital investment in green technology companies. He said 2007 was a record year for investment in these companies, and that so far this year, investment is up 40 percent.

Starting tomorrow, many of those companies will be on display during a three-day conference in Boston titled CleanTech 2008, a showcase for clean technology development, like making biodegradable plastic bags out of potato-based ethanol.

"Massachusetts needs to be out front in all these investments," he said. "We are the innovators."