What do an architect, a plumber, a banker, a water engineer and an organic wine grower have in common? Not much, you might think. Well, actually they do: in one way or another, they are all making the circular economy happen.
The European Union has made big commitments on climate change and big commitments on promoting the circular economy. Now it is time to focus on making sure we have the right skills to deliver on those pledges.
The best approach is to see these pledges as creators of opportunity. This year’s EU Green Week, Europe’s biggest annual event on environment policy, which takes place from May 29 to June 2, will do just that. It will look at the multiple benefits of green employment – where we are, what it means and what we can do to support the jobs that will drive the economy of tomorrow.
As companies move to reduce their ecological footprint, how can we avoid green skills shortages? What role can policymakers, social partners and businesses play?
Green Week will showcase environmental breakthroughs that are creating thousands of new green jobs. It will illustrate how cutting-edge green technology is being mainstreamed in the economy. And it will show how traditional, blue-collar jobs can become part of a green transition.
Since 2000, employment in eco-industries has grown by 20 per cent to reach 4.2 million jobs in 2014, with a turnover of around €700 billion.
But green jobs are not limited to eco-industries. The growing importance of sustainability has reached all sectors. Organic farming, sustainable agriculture and eco-tourism all depend on a healthy environment, and many other jobs are impacted indirectly.
The adjectives ‘green’, ‘sustainable’ and ‘fair’ are becoming indispensable quality seals for a company’s success.
Many industries have realised that doing the right thing actually saves them money by being less reliant on primary materials and imports.
Of course, the challenge is huge, but it is one of the best ways to keep industry in Europe. Think of new products like smartphones and tablets. Millions are produced every year, with highly valued batteries part of every unit.
Umicore, in Belgium, started life as a mining company over 200 years ago. They took a big step up the value chain and began recycling metal waste rather than digging up raw materials. From circuit boards, Umicore can now retrieve over 95 per cent of the gold content and transform it into 99.99 per cent pure solid gold bars.
They have made a spectacular move from literal coal mine to figurative gold mine.
However, we are far from fully exploiting the potential in the waste and recycling sector. Today, less than 25 per cent of the plastic waste collected is recycled, and about 50 per cent still goes to landfill. Fully applying the rules in place would not only increase recycling but also create up to 400,000 additional jobs by 2020.
That is equivalent to the entire population of Malta.
To fully exploit this potential, we have launched a renewed push with Member States to improve the implementation of commonly agreed rules through the environment implementation review.
Equally, there is a lot more to do on shifting tax from labour to resources and phasing out environmentally harmful subsidies. The EU average when it comes to environmental tax revenues is 6.35 per cent. Environmental taxes don’t just encourage people to change their behaviour. Their extension would also allow governments to cut labour taxes.
To meet specific labour market needs within the green economy, we have to make sure that future and current workers have the right knowledge and skills. This requires adapting curricula and training courses and upskilling people already in jobs.
EU funding is available to help member states. In particular, Erasmus+, the EU’s education and training programme, the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and the European Social Fund, which may support actions to update and upgrade workers’ skills.
One thing is clear: going green makes business sense, it’s good for the environment, and it’s good for people.
Policymakers, social partners, companies and education and training institutions all have to do their bit to ensure that Europe is ready for the employment realities of tomorrow and that Europeans have the right skills for a green career.
Karmenu Vella is European Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.