Heart of What Vermont is All About

Green jobs are on the rise in Vermont

March 13, 2011 - So what exactly is a green job? Janice St. Onge, deputy director of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, a nonprofit created by the state legislature in 1995, says most people think of weatherizing homes or installing solar panels, but there is more to green jobs than that.

"People define it differently depending on who you ask," St. Onge said.

Vermont Green, a public-private partnership to promote green jobs in the state that received nearly $5 million in federal funding, has expanded its definition beyond weatherization and the energy sector to include sustainable agriculture.

"Agriculture has a big impact on the economy and the landscape in Vermont," St. Onge said. "Vermont Green included sustainable agriculture in their definition of green jobs because they’re looking at not just the financial return, but also the environmental and social return of what you do." {continued}