Sustainability has come a long way from the fringe of organizational life, to its center.  More organizations understand the key opportunities of sustainability, and reformulate strategies to match them.  But sustainability is not just boardroom jargon; it's a way of doing business that has been adopted throughout organizations, with most initiatives coming from the ground up, either within organizations or in 'born responsible' social enterprises.  What, then, should you know about sustainability in the workplace?

Policies and public demand continue to increase interest in greening human activity. From renewable energy, technology, and environmental management, to social entrepreneurship and innovative collaborative organizational forms, the number of jobs designed around sustainable principles are increasing.  New hires have unprecedented opportunities to define their role within organizations seeking to innovate their business models.

Environmental studies used to be a specialized and often isolated degree in universities.  Not anymore.  We have come to understand the effect of human activity on other life systems around us.  As a result, sustainability as an integrative discipline is making its way to the center of our studies.  It has become a lens through which all activity is being considered.  Green literacy, then, is key to understanding the demands and opportunities of the twentyfirst century.

The current generation of students are literate in sustainability, globalization and technology far beyond previous generations. This is not unlike the computer literacy that created a generation gap two decades ago.  The 'green' generational gap, impacts the pedagogical process, management training in corporations, and organizational development.  Can organizational leaders keep up?  Will they recognize young minds for their potential to bring innovative thinking in the workplace, or will they attempt to fit them in an inert organizational culture. Furthermore, will today's new ventures started by these young green leaders take on the corporate giants within the next decade?