A forum regarding the rise of green jobs is slated to take place at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Monday.

The event is following a similar forum held in Madison this past Friday, which was sponsored jointly by the Wisconsin School of Business, the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Counsel and the Law Firm of Godfrey and Kahn.

Green jobs are jobs that not only create opportunities for unemployed individuals, but also help to reduce waste and pollution and benefit the environment, said Thomas Egger, associate director of the Business, Enviornment and Social Responsibility program at the Wisconsin School of Business.

“What we wanted to do was bring some very knowledgeable people together to talk about both what’s happening in our climate and identify why we’re talking about climate change and green jobs together,” Eggert said. “Most of what we are talking about links to green jobs.”

Eggert added the key topic of the discussion Friday was how to prepare for climate change in residences and how to create more jobs involving re-insulating houses, putting in new windows and other energy-efficient changes.

“We ask the public to look at how they are heating their houses,” Eggert said.

Eggert added these ideas could create up to 200,000 to 300,000 jobs.

Government Affairs Director of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce Steven Bass agreed the importance of the correlation between the struggling economy and the opportunity to create new jobs to help the environment is the driving force behind next week panel discussion in Milwaukee.

“Everyone in business knows that a strong economy and a good environment do not need to be mutually exclusive. The economic landscape, both nationally and globally, is more competitive than ever,” Bass said. “If a state can put itself at the forefront of energy efficiency it has the potential to create a competitive edge, especially for us here in Wisconsin.”

Bass noted green engineering is a huge growth area as well and will help build relationships between the state and various colleges and universities in Wisconsin, especially in regard to new degree programs that are being implemented at several universities.

Anna Schryver of Isthmus Communications said currently UW-Parkside, River Falls, Stout and Superior offer a new Bachelor of Science degree in sustainable management developed by UW-Extension Dean David Schejbal. The degree, which is offered online and has already drawn enrollment from eight different states as well as from Munich, Germany, will provide students with the knowledge they need to start successful, energy-efficient businesses.

Bass noted the development of such degrees would be an important topic of discussion in Milwaukee next week.

“Green engineering is a huge growth area and a huge portion of this whole topic is taking place is school. This is an area in academia where things are really buzzing right now,” Bass said.