The Institute for Human Rights & Business (IHRB) and Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI) published Future Green Construction Jobs: Skills and Decent Working Conditions (June 2024). This policy brief depicts the current landscape for employment in the green construction sector and ways forward, as part of IHRB’s Built Environment workstream:
Human Level’s Take: The construction sector and the built environment are major contributors to climate change, and therefore a natural target for a fast, green transition. The IHRB and BWI point out that, despite slower than expected growth to date, the construction sector has the potential to be a big driver for green employment opportunities—provided the industry can meet the moment. This includes re-skilling and upskilling of workers in “brown” construction jobs to green ones, which requires investment from both companies and governments. Increased investment in green construction technology, materials innovation and renewable energy will help create the employment opportunities needed. But IHRB and BWI caution that a green transition won’t really be “green” if risks to construction workers—ranging from health and safety to wages to job stability to collective bargaining and more—are not duly addressed by companies and States in the transition. For companies in the construction value chain, including suppliers of goods, services and logistics, this could mean setting strong human rights standards, implementing ethical recruitment practices and accountability mechanisms and strengthening worker voice, especially for vulnerable workers. For companies downstream, consider this a call to probe deeper into construction suppliers to understand not only the benefits of a green transition but also the potential risks for workers.
Key points from the report:
- Green construction jobs could help solve construction industry challenges for workers: The report points out that the ILO’s definition of green jobs includes decent work, including adequate wages, safety, labour rights, social dialogue and social protection. There is a wage premium for green construction jobs but the report highlights that workers across the construction industry still face key risks at work, which must be addressed by business and governments to ensure they aren’t harmed in the transition. Construction jobs tend to be highly informal, in part as a result of complex sub-contracting; jobs are precarious; there are risks of wage theft, unpaid overtime and delayed salaries; there is often poor housing; gender inequality is common; and many workers remain unaware of their rights. The construction industry is also reliant on migrant workers who tend to be more vulnerable to exploitation. If left unaddressed in the energy transition, these risks could also manifest in green construction jobs and scale at the same pace as the demand for green construction. On the other hand, a truly just transition in the construction sector could bring along industry players and improve working conditions broadly.
- Slower than expected growth, but potential is there: Growth in green jobs overall has not matched predictions. For example, in 2018 the ILO predicted that 24 million new green jobs would be created by 2030, but the rate of green jobs in OECD countries only rose from 16% to 18% between 2011 and 2021. The construction industry is a big contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, with the built environment accounting for 27% of global emissions. According to the OECD, while 50% of jobs in the construction industry now are green, 30% are considered brown and it’s not clear which side of the spectrum is generating new employment. The construction sector overall only makes up 5% of total green employment opportunities. The report notes that the number of green construction jobs is lower than expected for a variety of factors, including worker supply and delays in technological innovation that is slowing green construction overall. Still, the construction industry is predicted to be one of the greatest generators of transition-related employment creation—as long as the sector keeps pace with the demands of a just energy transition.
- What’s needed now: The report highlights that interventions are needed both to increase demand for green construction jobs and increase the supply of green construction workers. On the demand side, new technology in off-site construction (e.g., modular homes, fabrication of components, etc.) and renewable energy could both help to generate employment growth and move the geographical distribution of jobs from construction sites to the supply chain. Most jobs in the green construction sector will be created in waste management and energy efficiency, with some in green materials. In parallel, governments and companies need to ensure that construction workers at all levels and of all types have the right skills to meet the demands of green construction, both on-site and off-site. This includes knowledge and technical skills in circular economy and waste management, energy efficiency and renewable energy installation, new materials, digitalisation and automation, data analysis and using digital devices on-site, among others.
