~/Green Skills – IV

Introduction — Why Green Skills Matter

Today we experience unpredictable weather due to climatic changes and environmental deterioration — air, water and soil are being depleted globally. Whether we work in a factory or in a field, we must avoid processes that harm our surroundings. Pollution is a major problem in most cities — we can check rising pollution only if we are aware of ways to control and minimise it.

• Plant trees near houses; use eco-friendly transport — bicycle, electric car.
• Do not leave the tap running while brushing.
• Reuse leftover water from bottles for watering plants.
• Use cloth bags instead of plastic bags.
• Buy eco-friendly products; reduce paper usage.

🔹 Non-Toxic Cleaning Products & Indoor Plants

• Cleaning products with sustainably sourced ingredients, natural oils, biodegradable and in eco-friendly packaging are conducive for the environment.
• Indoor plants such as Areca palm and rubber plant absorb harmful pollutants and purify the air inside homes.

1.1 What Is a Green Job?

🔹 UNEP Definition

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), green jobs (green collar jobs) are work in agricultural, administrative, research & development, manufacturing and service activities that contribute substantially to preserving or restoring environmental quality.

1.2 Green Collar Worker

A green collar worker is one employed in the environmental sectors of the economy. Examples:

• Green building architects · environmental consultants · waste-management / recycling managers.
• Environmental and biological systems engineers · landscape architects.
• Solar and wind energy engineers / installers · green vehicle engineers.
• Organic farmers · environmental lawyers · business personnel dealing with green services/products.
• Electricians who install solar panels; plumbers who install solar water heaters; construction workers who build energy-efficient green buildings; technicians on wind power farms.

1.3 India's Measures for Sustainability

• Automotive sector — reducing Carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles.
• Power sector — promoting non-fossil fuels (solar, hydro, wind).
• Construction sector — green buildings with energy-efficient technologies.
• The government (with private players) is raising energy awareness, changing consumer behaviour and evolving energy-efficiency codes.

🔹 Skill Council for Green Jobs

Under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the Skill Council for Green Jobs develops competencies in renewable energy, sustainable development and waste management.

🔹 Make in India Campaign

The Make in India campaign provides impetus for green jobs by facilitating investment, ensuring faster innovation, enhancing skill development, protecting intellectual property, and building best-in-class manufacturing structures.

🔹 Delhi Metro — A Green Jobs Success Story

India's first modern metropolitan rail transport system — Delhi Metro — saves commuting time and has become the first rail-based methodology to garner 90,000 voluntary carbon credits for improving energy efficiency. It created jobs for engineers, drivers, station attendants, signal staff, ticketing, construction and maintenance workers.

1.4 Benefits of Green Jobs — The 5 Roles

Green jobs help:

1. Increase the efficiency of energy and raw material.
2. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
3. Control waste and pollution.
4. Protect and restore ecosystems.
5. Support adaptation to the effects of climate change.

1.5 Green Jobs in Agriculture — Organic Gardening

Organic gardening and farming grows plants and crops in an environment-friendly way:

• No synthetic pesticides → no toxic runoff.
• No chemicals added to soil → no water pollution or soil contamination.
• Protects insects, birds, critters and beneficial soil organisms.
• Organic produce is free of chemical residues — good for health.

🔹 Farmers' Cooperatives — FIGs, FPOs, KVKs

• Farmer Interest Groups (FIGs) — farmers are mobilised into groups of 15–20 members at the village level.
• Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) — federating point for FIGs; mainly small or marginal farmers.
• Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) — government centres that disseminate technology, provide training, and support collection, storage and reuse of agro-waste.

Green jobs in the agricultural sector include: organic farming, integrated pest management, farm mechanisation, agriculture tourism.

1.6 Green Jobs in Transportation — Public Transport & Energy Conservation

• Energy-efficient vehicles and alternate fuels like Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) minimise greenhouse gas emissions.
• The New Biofuel Policy (Government of India, 10 August 2018) focuses on biomass-based ethanol, ethanol technologies and biodiesel blending.
• Biofuels — produced directly or indirectly from organic material — BioCNG, Bio-methanol — generate green jobs.

🔹 Electric Vehicle Programme (EESL)

The Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under the Ministry of Power, launched an electric vehicle programme to facilitate e-mobility in India.

• Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) — hybridised with fossil-fuel engines.
• Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) — use only electric power via a battery.
• Skill training of entrepreneurs in handling and maintenance of e-rickshaws creates more green jobs in transportation.

1.7 Green Jobs in Water Conservation

• Rooftop rainwater harvesting — rainwater is collected in tanks and used later; installable in all houses and buildings; also recharges groundwater.
• Cycle-run water pumps — instead of electricity-run pumps; no power consumed; doubles as exercise.
• Bamboo channels for drip irrigation — eco-friendly, efficient, cheap; once the bamboo rots (2–3 years) it adds as manure to the soil.

Common green jobs: water-quality testing, water conservation, water management.

1.8 Green Jobs in Solar and Wind Energy

Solar and wind power plants provide clean energy. Common roles:

• Solar Photovoltaic Installer — installs and maintains solar panels in homes, businesses or land.
• Solar Lighting Technician — assembles, tests and repairs solar home-lighting systems and streetlights.
• Other jobs: roofer, solar panel installation technician, field technician.

1.9 Green Jobs in Waste Reduction, Reuse & Recycling

🔹 14 Categories of Solid Waste (Ministry of Urban Development)

Domestic · Municipal · Commercial · Industrial · Institutional · Garbage · Ash · Street sweepings · Dead animals · Construction & demolition · Bulky · Hazardous · Sewage · E-waste.

🔹 Solid Waste Management System — 5 Stages

1. Collection
2. Segregation
3. Transportation
4. Processing
5. Disposal

Green jobs in this area: e-waste recycling, solid waste management, waste reduction, waste auditing, waste control.

1.10 Green Jobs in Green (Eco-) Tourism

Green jobs in eco-tourism include: eco-tour guides and eco-tourism operators. Visitors feel good about being in an environment-friendly place, improving the destination's public image.

1.11 Green Jobs in Building and Construction

• Houses/buildings use sustainable materials, eco-friendly construction processes and green operations.
• Green building design integrates renewable and non-renewable resources.
• Skill development has a strategic role in ensuring enough workers equipped with appropriate skills.

🔹 Indian Green Building Council (IGBC)

The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), was founded in 2001. IGBC offers services including green-building rating programmes, certification services and green-building training programmes.

Green jobs in this sector: construction, landscape, gardening, maintenance of green components, water management.

1.12 Green Jobs in Appropriate Technology

Examples: bike-powered or hand-powered water pumps, solar lamps in streetlights, solar buildings.

Green jobs in this area: biogas production, water treatment & filtration, farm mechanisation, rainwater harvesting, sanitation, lighting, food production, refrigeration.

1.13 Role of Green Jobs — Improving Energy and Raw-Material Use

• Energy efficiency — green jobs design, install and maintain systems that use less energy for the same output (LED lighting, efficient motors, smart grids).
• Raw-material efficiency — industries adopt circular-economy practices (reduce, reuse, recycle) to lower the volume of virgin material needed.
• Example — paper mills send damaged rolls back to the beginning of the production line as raw material; plastic manufacturers re-incorporate off-cuts and scrap into new products.

1.14 Role of Green Jobs — Limiting Greenhouse Gas Emissions

GHGs are emitted by burning fossil fuels, vehicles, refrigerants and agricultural activities. They trap heat from the Earth and prevent it from escaping into outer space → causing global warming.

• Green jobs reduce emissions by deploying less polluting energy sources like CNG.
• Solar, wind and hydro installations replace coal and diesel power.
• Reforestation and afforestation projects offset residual emissions.

1.15 Role of Green Jobs — Minimising Waste and Pollution

Managers of manufacturing plants try to reduce the amount of waste produced at every step. Key ways:

♻️ 1. Reusing Scrap Material

Example — paper mills: damaged rolls sent back to production line. Plastic manufacturers: off-cuts & scrap re-incorporated into new products.

🔍 2. Ensuring Quality Control

Maintaining product quality reduces rejected items and therefore waste. Automated monitoring equipment now identifies problems at an early stage.

🔄 3. Waste Exchange

The waste product of one process becomes the raw material for another — a clear example of re-use rather than disposal.

💻 4. Managing E-Waste

Old mobile phones, laptops and television sets pile up. Sustainable development requires judicious planning for recycling e-waste.

🍃 5. Use of Eco-Friendly Material

Scientists have discovered eco-friendly materials (banana leaf plates, paper plates) that are easily disposable; their availability and use must be encouraged.

1.16 Role of Green Jobs — Protecting and Restoring Ecosystems

• Human activities (excess felling of trees) destroy ecosystems — causing climate change and natural disasters.
• Green jobs help conserve existing ecosystems and restore degraded ones using natural solutions.
• Forests and vegetation stabilise slopes → reduce landslides.
• Wetlands help control floods.
• Avoiding deforestation, planting more trees, investing in soil health and restoration all control GHG emissions.

1.17 Role of Green Jobs — Adapting to Climate Change

Even though we try to control GHG emissions, global warming will continue due to damage already done (felling of trees, land use for agriculture). We must adapt — find ways to survive in the new climatic conditions.

🔹 National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) — 8 Missions

The NAPCC was launched by the Government of India in June 2008 to deal with climate change. Its 8 missions cover:

1. Solar energy
2. Enhanced energy efficiency
3. Sustainable habitat
4. Water
5. Sustaining Himalayan ecosystems
6. Forestry (Green India)
7. Sustainable agriculture
8. Strategic knowledge for climate change

These missions address mitigation of GHGs and adaptation to adverse climate impacts on environment, forests, habitat, water resources and agriculture.