San Francisco, February 13, 2012 - New data, released last week reveals that California's Core Green Economy showed greater resilience at the height of the recent recession, outperforming the overall economy by retaining a greater percentage of its workforce.

The report, 2012 Many Shades of Green:California's Shift to a Cleaner, More Productive Economy, which  represents a comprehensive, bottom-up accounting of California's Core Green Economy, shows that from January 2009 to January 2010, the state's overall economy registered job losses of seven percent.

Those losses are more than two times higher than the job losses tracked in the state's Core Green Economy, which saw a three percent loss in jobs. In the long term, employment in California's Core Green Economy grew by 53 percent from 1995-2010, while jobs in the wider economy grew by 12 percent.

The state's Core Green Economy is represented by businesses involved in the clean energy sector, those that provide goods and/or services to conserve natural resources, and those that cut pollution and/or repurpose/recycle.

"In tracking the growth of the state's Core Green Economy and the overall economy, we found that the global financial crisis and the mortgage crisis that caused our overall economy to go into a deep dive did not have as damaging an impact on the state's Core Green Economy," said F. Noel Perry, founder of Next 10, the nonpartisan research group that produces the report.

Report highlights:

Many Shades of Green, which systematically tracks the most recent available data on employment, business establishments, location, and growth across every green sector and region of California, notes:

• California's overall economy saw seven percent job losses in the near term (Jan. 2009-Jan. 2010), while the Core Green Economy fared better in the recession, experiencing three percent job losses. Over the longer term (1995-2010) California's Core Green Economy grew by 53 percent, while jobs in the wider economy grew by 12 percent over the same time period.  

• The San Diego region, the Bay Area and the Sacramento area have shown the greatest resilience when it comes to retaining jobs. Each recorded Core Green Economy job losses of less than two percent from Jan. 2009-Jan. 2010, while the state overall recorded seven percent job losses over the same time period. (Page 15)

• Longer-term, between 1995 and 2010, Core Green Economy employment expanded in the Sacramento area by 113 percent and in the Bay Area by 76 percent. The San Diego region (+65%) and Orange County (+62%) also recorded strong Core Green Economy job growth numbers. (Page 15)

• Manufacturing represents a strong sector in the value chain, accounting for 27 percent of jobs in the Core Green Economy compared to just ten percent in the total economy. Manufacturing in the state's Core Green Economy expanded by one percent in the shorter term, and by 53 percent from 1995 to Jan. 2010. (Pages 17-18)

• While employment and business growth varies across the 15 green industry segments, Energy Infrastructure (+14%), Advanced Materials (+4%), Clean Transportation (+1%), and Energy Generation (+1%) bucked recessionary trends, exhibiting growth during the recession from Jan. 2009- Jan. 2010. (Page 14)

• Households and businesses that increase efficiencies are reaping financial benefits and helping the state's overall economy achieve greater energy and resource productivity. Products and services developed in the state's Core Green Economy are accelerating and supporting this needed transition. (Pages 4-10)

"During the great recession, certain sectors of the overall economy suffered huge losses. The Core Green Economy fared better when it came to retaining jobs and businesses in California," said Tracey Grose, Vice President and Director of Research at Collaborative Economics, which authored the report for Next 10.

"Growing the diverse sectors within the state's clean economy improves California's overall economic resilience."

[Left] The Clean Economy - Click to Enlarge

Manufacturing is one sector in which this phenomenon is demonstrated.  Manufacturing jobs in California's Core Green Economy shot up 53 percent from 1995 to 2010, while manufacturing jobs on the whole dropped by 18 percent. In the near term, manufacturing jobs in the state's core green economy grew by one percent; in the overall economy, they dropped by eight percent (Jan. 2009- Jan. 2010).

"Households and businesses of all shapes and sizes are actively seeking out strategies and products that will insulate them from rising energy costs-- this is one big reason manufacturing is growing in the Core Green Economy," said Perry.

"Buying products manufactured in the Core Green Economy helps achieve the goal of reducing dollars spent on energy, and makes even the most traditional companies more resource productive."

California's clean economy is the subject of a major study underway by GLOBE Advisors, a subsidiary of the GLOBE Group, in partnership with the Washington D.C.-based Center for Climate Strategies. This review, commissioned by the member jurisdictions of the Pacific Coast Collaborative, will be made public at the upcoming Pacific Coast Collaborative Leader's Forum, expected to take place in Vancouver on the eve of GLOBE 2012.

The full report is available here