The green economy is a new opportunity for Rhode Island that can increase the number and diversity of jobs and raise wages. Education and training must be aligned to support job opportunities at all levels. Advancing the green economy will bring collateral benefits like waste and energy use reduction and energy price stabilization. Ulti- mately, advancing the green economy will require efforts with all kinds of companies: nurturing new, entrepreneurial efforts; helping existing companies grow and convert to green practices; and attracting existing or new ventures from outside the state.
As a result of the work done through the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation’s June 2009 Green Economy Roundtable and the subsequent Roadmap development processes, RIEDC has identified acceleration initiatives for advancing the green economy:
- Make green products and green the advanced manufacturing process
- Build or retrofit high performing/energy efficient buildings and infrastructure
- Integrate the elements of innovation: research, development and then business application in the marketplace, resulting in business growth and adoption
- Build the hub of a local supply chain for onshore and offshore wind power for the Northeast and Middle Atlantic states
Following the roundtable, RIEDC assembled key leaders to develop the roadmap for the critical green economy initiatives that were identified in June. The content for the roadmap is based on the outcomes of seven small workshops — one for each initiative, an additional workshop for wind and two workshops on workforce development — held in late 2009 and early 2010.
Policy, originally defined as an initiative, has now been identified as a building block that will tie the acceleration initiatives together.
Green policy, workforce training and education, behavior change, capital, and business growth and adoption were determined to be the five building blocks that will drive all the acceleration initiatives. In order for the four accelera- tor initiatives to succeed, the building blocks must provide a strong foundation. Strong building blocks will yield: aligned policy to redirect resources; up-to-date, innovative workforce training and education programs; increased behavior change of citizens; more available capital; and accelerated business growth and adoption. Further, it would create a strong competitive advantage for green business attraction and retention in Rhode Island.
To read the full, original PDF click on this link: A Roadmap for Advancing the Green Economy in Rhode Island
Author: REIDC
