Tech Go Green

Environmental jobs make up one of the most rapidly growing sectors of the United States economy and California has one of the highest nationwide employment rates for green jobs. There are numerous California universities that offer majors related to this industry, but they lack the demonstrativeness and specificity of on-the-job experience and are rarely tailored to the subject of sustainable design. Our structured internship program provides the necessary job experience to give interested individuals a significant advantage in this burgeoning job market.

The opportunity to work as part of Tech Go Green's small and growing organization provides invaluable edification. Through our internship program, we provide college students and recent graduates the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in the fields of sustainable design, environmental education, green marketing and networking, professional proposal and grant writing, program development and administration. This experience is designed to provide the interns with practical knowledge of the environmental industry, guide their education and career goals, and enhance their personal marketability in the environmental job field. Performance reviews from the staff provide crucial feedback for the interns and allow them to assess their own performance and refine their goals.

For 2010, we anticipate to enroll about 16-20 interns in our program, with about 4-5 interns for each semester.

Do-It-Yourself Sustainability: Environmentalism is becoming an increasingly pressing concern, but the wealth of available information is often intimidating to the average homeowner. The Do-It-Yourself Sustainability workshop series provides residents with simple measures in which they can reduce waste, save money and improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Information is taught in a simple, easily accessible manner that clearly indicates the goals, costs, benefits and methods relating to the chosen topic. If applicable, the workshops will also provide attendees with contact information for local businesses and contractors that can aid them in making improvements.

"Green Jobs" for Students: The green job industry is one of the fastest growing sectors of the American economy, but students are often unsure of how to enter the field or how to apply environmentalism to their interests. TGG's college workshop series is catered to college students and career changers that are interested in career opportunities within the green economy. Topics include careers in various job sectors, university and college programs on sustainability and environmental engineering, fields of study where research would benefit the green movement, certification and accreditation programs such as LEED AP, and other information about social entrepreneurshiwith a total of at least 36 over a one-year period. We estimate that 20 people will attend each workshop and over 700 citizens will directly benefit from this program.

Though there are recognition programs in the South Bay that acknowledge businesses who have made progress towards sustainability, there is no unified Green Business Program that offers positive incentives and free assistance to encourage businesses to implement actions that go above and beyond municipal regulations to protect, preserve, and improve the environment and the South Bay community. Tech Go Green has developed a South Bay Green Business Program that will provide a standardized Certificate of Sustainability to recognize businesses that make additional green efforts in four areas: solid waste and recycling, energy efficiency, water efficiency, and pollution prevention. The program focuses on small to medium sized businesses that often lack dedicated staff to implement environmental changes.

This program is currently under development with a pilot program launch planned for January 2010. The goal for the pilot program is to enroll at least 30 businesses in the program and successfully assist at least 20 of these businesses in becoming South Bay Certified Green Businesses.