What counts as a "green job"?

The gist

There's no single, agreed-on definition of a "green job." Different governments, non-profits, and recruiters draw the line in different places. Ours is practical: a green job is any role whose work moves climate or sustainability forward, across any of 21 pathways that make up the climate economy. Every role here is tagged with its pathway. No pathway, no listing.

Our standard

We don't judge by job title. A "Software Engineer" can absolutely be a green job at a grid-optimization startup. So can an "Accountant" at a renewable-energy developer, a "Communications Lead" at a conservation non-profit, or an "Operations Manager" at a circular-materials manufacturer.

We ask one question: does this role's work contribute to a pathway in the climate economy? If yes, it belongs. If not, it doesn't.

That's why Canopy (our side of the platform for hiring teams) asks employers to choose a pathway when they create a role, and won't let them skip it. That one requirement is the gate. It's also the reason the listings here are genuinely useful for finding climate work, instead of a wall of greenwashed job titles.

The 21 pathways

Each pathway has its own color and icon across the site. Here they all are, alphabetically, with an example role for each:

Climate work overlaps all the time, and plenty of roles touch more than one pathway. The tag captures the main one. Employers pick the best fit.

Picking the right pathway (for employers)

Three questions, in order:

1. What's the company's main mission? A solar developer leans Energy. A reforestation non-profit leans Forestry. A green-building consultancy leans Construction or Real Estate.
2. What does this specific role do? A software engineer at a solar developer is Technology if they're building internal tools, but Energy if they're building grid-optimization products.
3. When in doubt, go more specific. Technology is a catch-all. If there's a more precise home (Energy, Transportation, Finance), use it.

If you can't find a pathway that genuinely fits, that's usually a sign the role isn't a fit for us.

How roles get on the site

Listings arrive in one of two ways:

• Straight from employers. Companies post through Canopy and choose their own pathway when they create a role. Since a pathway is required, nothing publishes without one. This is how most listings get here.
• Added by our team. We bring in roles from companies and organizations doing climate-aligned work, usually when we know them well and want to spotlight their hiring.

Either way, every listing carries its pathway tag, visible on the job card, the full listing, and the search filters.

What we don't list

Some roles don't belong here, even when an employer asks. We don't list:

• Roles at companies whose work isn't meaningfully climate-aligned. A marketing role at a general ad agency doesn't qualify, even if the agency has a sustainability page.
• Roles whose main effect is to grow the fossil economy, like fossil-fuel exploration, pipeline construction, or anything that expands extraction.
• Roles at companies actively working against climate progress, such as lobbying against climate policy or large-scale deforestation.
• Roles where the pathway is a stretch. If the poster can't find a pathway that genuinely fits, the role isn't a fit either.
• Generic roles with no pathway at all. Every listing has to fit a pathway. That's the floor.

This isn't about ideological purity. It's about keeping the platform useful. People come here for climate work, and the listings have to deliver on that.

Edge cases

• Consulting and services. A consultant whose work is mostly climate-focused fits the pathway closest to that work (Policy, Energy, Real Estate). A general management consultant with one climate client out of ten doesn't.
• Adjacent industries. EV manufacturing fits Transportation or Manufacturing. The price point or audience doesn't change the pathway. An affordable mobility company counts the same as a luxury one.
• Sustainability roles at non-climate companies. A sustainability manager at a general retail brand can post. That work moves the transition along even at companies that aren't climate-native. The pathway is usually Policy or whichever area the work touches most.
• Research with mixed uses. Climate-relevant research belongs (pathway: Research, or the most fitting area). Research with only incidental climate value doesn't.
• Support roles at climate companies. Legal, recruiting, finance, and operations roles at climate-native companies count. The pathway is usually Finance, Policy, or whichever area the company belongs to.

If you disagree with our call

If a role got turned down and you think it should fit, you have two options:

• Re-submit with a different pathway. Sometimes the right one isn't obvious. A role that reads as "Technology" on the surface might really be Energy, Transportation, or Manufacturing, depending on what the engineer is building. Try another.
• Reach out. Send the role link to support with a short note on how the work contributes to a pathway. The team reviews edge cases regularly.

If you're a job seeker and you spot a listed role that doesn't seem to qualify, you can flag it the same way. We'd rather know.

Going deeper

The 21 pathways above are just starting points. Each one is a whole career landscape. For an in-depth look at any pathway (the work, the skills, and the kinds of companies hiring), open the pathway guides in Treehouse. Every pathway has its own guide, plus mentor connections specific to that area. There's more in What's in Treehouse?.

Related

• Welcome to Green Jobs Board
• How to find and apply for jobs
• What's in Treehouse?
• Posting your first role
• Explore Jobs