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The Future of Green Jobs: Growth in the Transition

The Future of Green Jobs: Growth in the Transition

Charlie Cichetti
October 05, 2025

Smart strategies. Sharp stories. Sustainability that sticks.

📬 Intro: From Cuts to Growth

Headlines highlight layoffs in ESG teams. But that’s not the whole story. In Forbes last week, Nina Seega offered a sharp lens on where green work is headed; worth your time: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ninaseega/2025/09/30/the-future-of-green-jobs-surviving-disruption-following-the-money/

The short version: opportunity is migrating from “ESG departments” into core business. Follow the money, data, and policy—and your career follows too.

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🌱 FIELD NOTES: Where the Jobs Are Growing

The Big Ten

💡 Transition Finance — Investment capital is flowing into clean energy, mobility, and real estate resilience even as US politics whipsaw (https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/green-energy-pact-has-curbed-fossil-fuel-funding-2025-09-29/). Builders and owners who can speak the language of finance are in demand.

📊 Risk & Resilience — Credit and insurance pros are embedding climate and supply-chain shocks into everyday models. Facility managers with data and foresight skills on de-risking their designs, their builds and their operations can step into these conversations confidently. (https://www.jll.com/en-au/insights/how-facilities-managers-are-protecting-against-climate-risks)

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Client Transition Advisors — Client-facing roles are guiding AEC firms through credible resiliency plans. Designers and contractors who understand these pathways are valued partners, not just subcontractors. https://www.ey.com/en_nl/insights/assurance/how-a-climate-transition-plan-can-strengthen-your-business-model

🛰 Data & AI Fluency — Designers, builders, and operators who speak “AI + ops” are stepping into strategy. Those who are fluent in both buildings and data have a head start on workflows of the future. (https://openasset.com/resources/ai-construction-companies)

📜 Regulation Navigators — Disclosure rules and industrial policy are reshaping markets. Mid-career pros who can connect operations to shifting requirements are becoming indispensable. Have a look at the regulation changes just from the past week from the Mechanical Contractors Association of America: (https://www.mcaa.org/news/government-affairs-update-2025-09-22)

🏛 BUILT TO LAST: Opportunity in the Turbulence

Yes, teams are being cut in some sectors. But the winners are those who can link their work to how businesses make—and save—money in a carbon-constrained world.

For designers, it’s about integrating low-carbon strategies into mainstream specs.

For builders, it’s about demonstrating risk reduction and cost savings.

For operators, it’s about translating performance data into financial resilience.

Work doesn’t vanish. It shifts to the places where value is decided. Where is that for you?

🧠TL;DR:

Green jobs aren’t disappearing—they’re shifting into mainstream business. Growth is strongest where carbon, finance, and performance overlap.

🧰 Action Step:

Pick one growth lane—finance fluency, AI tool skills, or policy savvy—and build it into your career plan this year.

💬 Quote of the Week:

“Follow the money, the data, and the rules—and bring your craft with you.”

RETROFIT THIS 🖼️

TOOLS DOWN🔧

The green building transition will stay turbulent.

But that’s good news.

It means new roles, new skills, new leaders.

Stay curious. Stay ready.our Head Writer, helps sustainability pros connect the dots between innovation, safety, and ESG impact.

🌍️ Charlie Cichetti, our Fearless Leader and LEED Fellow, has guided >150,000 professionals in building careers that adapt—and thrive—through change.

Let’s Green Up together.

👉 [Explore Sustainability Credentials at GBES.com]

👉 [See what Skema’s building for architects]

👉 [Book a Waste2Zero audit before your next LEED renewal]