Sustainable jobs?

When we think Sustainable jobs inevitably we think "Green Jobs", jobs which have a mission statement to save the planet, jobs which apparently don't harm mother nature, that sort of thing. In short, it's all about the environment.
Somewhere along the line we often conveniently forget that sustainability has three pillars - environmental, social and economic. Much earlier in the life of this blog, I wrote about the lecturer who lead a workshop on the sustainability of our individual houses and at the end of the discussion simply said "Does your house make you happy"?
Essentially she was tapping into the social indicators we often overlook when assessing the sustainability of a house. Some examples;

·         Quality of buildings as place to live and work (fit for purpose type concept)

·         Building related effects on health and safety of users (it's always lurking out there...)

·         Barrier-free use of building

·         User satisfaction

·         Social cohesion and participation of users

As I rode home this afternoon, I was still marvelling at the enthusiasm one of my other lecturers has for her work. She has a "real day job" and does a little lecturing on a guest basis for part of the semester each year. She beams with enthusiasm as she talks about what she does each day and she appears to be delighted when a student answers a question demonstrating that they understood. If we looked at her job like you assess a house then suddenly you can start ticking a few of the boxes above... it suits her, it isn't adversely affecting her health, there appears nothing insurmountable in her way, she enjoys it and it allows her interaction with those she wants to associate with.

Too often we look through the sustainability prism and only follow the green band. For those who remember ROYGBIV, you'll know it's not the only path to the light.

It's good to know there are sustainable jobs out there and they are not all about saving the world... I hope you have one of them.