Poll finds majority of firms doing something to be more environmentally conscious

For the last 40 years, Earth Day’s mission has been to promote the importance of being environmentally conscious and companies appear to be listening. One-in-10 employers say they have added "green jobs," otherwise known as environmentally focused positions, in the last 12 months and despite the tough economy, and nearly 10 percent plan to add more in 2010, according to a new national survey of more than 2,700 hiring managers by CareerBuilder. The survey was conducted between February 10 and March 2, 2010.

Employers in the Northeast (14 percent) added the most "green jobs" over the last year, followed by 11 percent in the South, 10 percent in the West and 9 percent in the Midwest. Retail led the industries surveyed with 24 percent indicating they have added the "green jobs" over the last 12 months, followed by 18 percent of transportation and utilities, 15 percent of sales, 14 percent of IT and manufacturing, and 10 percent of financial services.

Companies are not only adding environmentally friendly positions within their organizations, but they are strengthening their in-house green programs as well. Nearly 70 percent of companies say they have added programs to be more environmentally conscious in the last year. The most popular green programs include:

• Recycling (47 percent)
• Using less paper (43 percent)
• Controlling lighting (40 percent)
• Powering down computers at the end of the day (29 percent)
• Purchasing office supplies made from recycled materials (25 percent)

"Green opportunities continue to grow as companies take advantage of increased government programs designed to spur job growth and reduce the country’s carbon footprint," said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for CareerBuilder. "The green category has expanded over the past few years and job seekers are finding environmentally friendly positions in virtually every industry and at every job level."

The following are examples of green job opportunities that can be found at www.goinggreenjobs.com, CareerBuilder’s site designed to connect "green" employers and job seekers:

• Hydrologist: The median annual income is $78,458.*
• GIS analyst: The media annual income is $35,622.
• Solar energy system designer: The median annual income is $65,160.
• Wildlife biologist: The median annual income is $38,301.
• Science teacher: The median annual income of kindergarten, elementary, middle and secondary school teachers ranges from $51,373 to 57,537.
• Pollution control technician: The median annual income is $58,500.
• Waste management engineer: The median annual income is $89,067.
• Organic chemist: The median annual income is $53,199.
• Environmental attorney: The median annual income for attorneys specializing in construction, real estate and land use is $99,579.
• Urban planner: The media annual income is $65,768.

* Salary information from CBsalary.com.