green-collar

American  

[green-kol-er] / ˈgrinˈkɒl ər /

adjective

1. noting or relating to workers, jobs, or businesses that are involved in protecting the environment or solving environmental problems.

   green-collar careers in renewable energy and other technologies.

2. noting or relating to actions that negatively affect the environment.

   green-collar crime such as illegal logging.

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noun

1. a green-collar worker.

green-collar British  

adjective

1. of, relating to, or designating workers involved in environmental protection, or employed by companies that have protection of the environment as a stated aim

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Etymology

Origin of green-collar

First recorded in 1990–95; green (in the sense “environmentally sound or beneficial”), on the model of blue-collar ( def. ), blue-collar ( def. )

Example Sentences

And about one quarter of its roughly 400,000 employees today are what Siemens calls green-collar workers, those who produce or market its portfolio of resource-efficient products.

From BusinessWeek • Jan. 27, 2011

The British wind power industry has estimated that eventually 70,000 green-collar jobs could be created on the back of more than £100bn of private sector investment needed under R3 proposals.

From The Guardian • Mar. 28, 2010

She is part of a new generation of black and Latino environmentalists who hope to revitalize their battered neighborhoods, struggling suburbs and rural towns with green-collar jobs and businesses.

From New York Times • Mar. 5, 2010

"You don't want to call something a green-collar job that doesn't have the wages or background to support it."

From Time Magazine Archive

The jobs that will go into that kind of work can be green-collar � provided that the government adopts the kind of policies that incentivize environmentally friendly choices.

From Time Magazine Archive