For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Friday, June 29, 2012                           USDL-12-1291

Technical information:(202) 691-6599 * gtpinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/gtp
Media contact:        (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov


                      GREEN TECHNOLOGIES AND PRACTICES -- AUGUST 2011


About three-quarters of business establishments reported the use of at least one green
technology or practice during August 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported
today. Green technologies and practices (GTP) are those that lessen the environmental
impact of an establishment’s operations. About 854,700 jobs, representing approximately
0.7 percent of total U.S. employment, were held by workers who spent more than half of
their time involved in green technologies and practices in August 2011. Over one-quarter
of these GTP jobs were in building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations or
in installation, maintenance, and repair occupations.

These data are from the Green Technologies and Practices survey, a survey of business
establishments designed to collect data on establishments’ use of green technologies
and practices and the occupations of workers who spend more than half of their time
involved in green technologies and practices. More information about the GTP survey
is provided in the Technical Note.

Use of green technologies and practices by business establishments

   --Seventy-five percent of business establishments reported the use of at least
     one green technology or practice during the August survey reference period.
     (See table 1.)

   --The two most frequently reported types of green technologies and practices
     were those that improve energy efficiency within the establishment, reported
     by 57 percent of establishments, and those that reduce the creation of waste
     materials as a result of operations, reported by 55 percent of establishments.
     The least commonly used green technology or practice was generating electricity,
     heat, or fuel from renewable sources primarily for use within the establishment,
     reported by about 2 percent of establishments. (See table 1.)

   --Information and educational services were among the industries with the highest
     incidence of green technologies and practices, with 84 and 81 percent of
     establishments reporting the use of at least one green technology or practice,
     respectively. The industries with the lowest incidence of green technologies
     and practices were mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (49 percent)
     and transportation and warehousing (61 percent). (See table 2.)

   --The percentage of establishments reporting the use of at least one green
     technology or practice varied by region from 72 percent in the South to 77
     percent in the West. The general pattern of green technologies and practices
     usage was similar across all four Census regions, with improving energy
     efficiency and reducing the creation of waste materials the most commonly
     reported practices, and generating energy from renewable sources the least
     commonly reported practice. (See table 1.)

   --About 25 percent of establishments reported using only 1 of the 6 types of
     green technologies and practices listed on the GTP survey form, and an
     additional 26 percent reported using two green technologies and practices.
     Nine percent of establishments reported using four or more green technologies
     and practices. (See table 3.)

GTP employment by region and by industry

   --About 854,700 jobs, representing 0.7 percent of total U.S. employment, were
     held by workers who spent more than half of their time involved in green
     technologies and practices during the survey reference period. The South had
     267,600 GTP jobs, representing about 31 percent of total GTP employment. About
     26 percent of GTP employment was in the West, 23 percent in the Midwest, and
     20 percent in the Northeast. (See table 4.)

   --The industries with the highest levels of GTP employment included administrative
     and waste services (151,900) and construction (134,100). GTP employment as a
     percent of industry employment ranged from 2.3 percent in construction to 0.1
     percent in finance and insurance and information. (See table 5.)

GTP employment by occupation

   --Over one-quarter of all GTP jobs were in the building and grounds cleaning
     and maintenance occupational group or in the installation, maintenance, and
     repair occupational group. The transportation and material moving; production;
     and construction and extraction occupational groups made up an additional 23
     percent of GTP employment. Education, training, and library occupations and
     arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations were among the
     occupational groups with the lowest GTP employment. (See table 6.)

   --Detailed occupations with the largest number of GTP jobs included janitors
     and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners, with 56,700 GTP jobs;
     heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers (37,300);
     and general maintenance and repair workers (26,000). (See table 6.)

   --Among occupations with at least 2,500 GTP jobs, the highest paying included
     general and operations managers, with an annual mean wage of $103,780 for GTP
     jobs; construction managers ($83,480); and civil engineers ($82,810). The
     lowest paying occupations included maids and housekeeping cleaners ($17,950)
     and farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse ($21,630). (See 
     table 6.)


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   |                                                                                |
   |         Differences between Green Technologies and Practices (GTP) and         |
   |             Green Goods and Services (GGS) employment estimates                |
   |                                                                                |
   |GTP employment is an estimate of the number of jobs in which workers spend      |
   |more than half of their time involved in technologies and practices that        |
   |make their establishment's production processes more environmentally friendly or|
   |use fewer natural resources. The GTP estimate is a measure of the BLS process   |
   |approach to green jobs. The separate Green Goods and Services (GGS) survey      |
   |measures the output approach to green jobs by identifying establishments        |
   |that produce green goods and services. The GGS measure of green employment is   |
   |based on the proportion of revenue the establishment derives from producing     |
   |green goods and services. The GGS employment estimate includes the workers      |
   |directly involved in producing such goods and services as well as other         |
   |employees of the establishment.                                                 |
   |                                                                                |
   |GTP and GGS employment are based on two distinct concepts. For this reason,     |
   |users should not sum the estimates to get a count of "total" green employment   |
   |nor should they consider the two estimates a range of the number of green       |
   |jobs. Users should decide which of the approaches best suits their analytical   |
   |needs. GTP and GGS estimates cannot be compared to each other to provide a      |
   |measure of the change in green employment over time.                            |
   |                                                                                |
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