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Revising NAICS

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27
Jul 09

Then the Census Bureau Called Me…

In my last post, I mentioned how the Bureau of Labor Statistics contacted me for additional info on my proposal to make Ecosystem Health Care and Assistance” a top-tier listing in the Federal government’s “North American Industry Classification System” (NAICS) 5-year revision process happening now. For background, please see my first post on this subject from April 2008)

Last week, I got another call from the Census Bureau.  What I’m told is that revisions to NAICS are being researched by several agencies.  As I was talking, I recalled many other interesting links that can help people understand the already huge size of the “ecosystems sector”.  I’ve included them at this end of this post.

My point in all this is that taking care of the health of ecosystems is already so big that it should be included at the highest level of the NAICS system.  If the Federal government will make this change to the system, it will have a significant impact on the economy because the NAICS category system is used so broadly in everything from job listing sites to investment indexes, and simply seeing that the “ecosystem sector” is top-tier in NAICS will reframe the global dialogue about economy and ecology.

Here are some examples of infrastructure-scale projects that rely on the health of ecosystems for their economic function:

Environmental Business Journal has a wealth of reports on US and global economic activity in this space: http://environmental-industry.com/

The website Ecosystem Marketplace documents how globally, ecosystem markets and incentives are increasing rapidly to help grow this new ecological economy: http://ecosystemmarketplace.com

The “Rise Report” published in 2003 showed that over $2.6 billion was invested in “double bottom line” Private Equity strategies focused on environmental and/or social benefits: http://www.riseproject.org/uzrise_capmkt_rpt_03.pdf.  This number has grown considerably since then.  The latest “green” private investment figures are available from http://cleantech.com

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7
Jul 09

I get a call from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

My die hard fans will remember my quest to upgrade the Federal government’s “North American Industry Classification System” (NAICS) to add a top-tier category for “Ecosystem Health Care and Assistance” in the system’s upcoming revision.  Doing this would would focus all economic features of our economy on the environment – from reporting my major media to job listing and lending categories.  Simply acknowledging the green sector is one small and low-cost governmental step that can truly transform the economy.

In April 2009, I submitted my formal comment to the process which you can read about in my last post on this subject. I figured that would be the end of it, but a few days ago, I got a call from a researcher from the Bureau of Labor Statistics who was charged with the task of following up and researching the merits of my proposal.  We had a nice talk, she asked me if I could provide additional names that would be able back up my wishes with some hard facts on the scope and scale of the green economy.

I suggested she contact Dr. Robert Costanza, founder of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at the University of Vermont, Storm Cunningham, author of The Restoration Economy, and Lester Brown, author of Eco-Economy.  I also pointed her to the EcoSector Bookstore for more experts & authors on the green economy.

If you have the names of any other experts in the macro and practical size and scope of the green economy, please post them here and I’ll make sure the researcher gets the info you provide.

Mark

Actions / Commentary / Revising NAICS — 1 Comment
25
Mar 09

Enviros Don’t Get No Respect!

Back in April 2008, I wrote a piece called Where is the Eco-Sector?, describing how the Federal government’s “North American Industry Classification System” (NAICS) gives short shrift to those of us who take care of the environment for our careers.

This may seem trivial, but it has widespread impacts on the way vast numbers of people think and spend money. For example, since “Environmental Health” is not a top-tier industry category in the U.S. Government’s system, this same ommission gets spread throughout job sites, investment services, news media coverage, etc.  It’s as if our industry doesn’t exist.  In the economy, lack of attention equals lack of money, and the result is that spending and investment dollars don’t get directed into the green economy at the level needed to address our global eco-challenges.

Now there’s something you can do about it!

The other day, I got an email from the Chief of the Economic Classifications Development Branch, Bureau of the Census, informing me that the department is now accepting public comments about proposed changes to the NAICS category system.

The dealine for comments is April 7, 2009. To comment, go to the U.S. Government’s official comment site for the NAICS revision process and press the “Add Comments” button. From this web page, you can also download a PDF that describes the NAICS revision process in more detail, along with the email, fax, and phone for Mr. John Murpy, Chair of the Economic Classification Policy Committee.

Here’s what I wrote:

Dear Mr. Murphy,

I would like to request that you add a top-tier category for “Ecosystem Health Care and Assistance” in your upcoming revision to the “North American Industry Classification System” (NAICS).

This would reflect the importance of healthy ecosystems to the health of people and begin to recognize the economically valuable activities of millions of Americans working in the Eco-Sector toward these objectives.

I posted a article on this subject at http://ecosector.com/blog/?p=31 that describes my reasoning in more detail.

Thank you for your kind consideration.

Mark Winstein
Founder
EcoSector Industry Association
208-596-6500

The department reviews and proposes changes once every five years.  I’m not exactly optimistic we can make these changes this time around – I think it will take growth of the EcoSector Industry Association to accomplish a sea change like this.  However, with your help, we can at least get this idea planted and then water it so that we can eventually complete this much needed structural transformation of our economy.

Mark Winstein

Commentary / Revising NAICS — No Comments
30
Apr 08

Where is the Eco-Sector?

I recently looked over the U.S. Dept of Commerce’s “NAICS” listings while doing some research for a client. NAICS stands for “North American Industry Classification System”. It is a numbered system categorizing every aspect of the U.S. economy. Supposedly…

The list starts with 2-digit numbers for top-tier categories, such as “11 – Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting”, and extends down to 6-digit numbers for fine distinctions, such as “111219 – Other Vegetable (except Potato) and Melon Farming”.

I started searching for the part of the economy I care about most, all things “eco”. Here are some results:

There is no index entry for “ecology”.
There is no index entry for “ecosystem”.
There is no index entry for “climate”.

Okay, how about “environment”?

Here we get a handful of listings, such as “813312 – Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations”, and “541620 – Environmental Consulting Services”. If you do this search yourself, you’ll find all listings with the word “environment” are 6-digit numbers, the lowest tier of the category system.

I first did this little exercise back in 2001. Now, with updated “2007″ codes, nothing has changed. As an industry, we “ecopreneurs” are all but invisible to federal policymakers. The numeric mapping illustrates with elegant simplicity that “environment” is the lowest priority.

My thought is that if “62 – Health Care and Social Assistance” is a top-tier listing, there should be a similar top-tier listing for “Ecosystem Health Care and Assistance”. This would reflect the importance of healthy ecosystems to the health of people. It would be a great place to start defining the Eco-Sector for all those who track the economy.

Of course, our government officials like to keep things friendly, so when my above searches netted no results, there was a courteous tag line included:

If you cannot find your activity when doing this search,
email Dr. NAICS. or call 1-888-75NAICS.

I sent Dr. NAICS an email requesting a new top-tier category for the Eco-Sector…

Dear Dr. NAICS,

I would like to request that you add a top-tier category for “Ecosystem Health Care and Assistance”.

This would reflect the importance of healthy ecosystems to the health of people and begin to recognize the economically valuable activities of millions of Americans working in the Eco-Sector toward these objectives.

I recently posted a article on this subject at http://ecosector.com/blog/?p=31

Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to your thoughts.

Kindly,

Mark Winstein
Founder
www.EcoSector.com
208-596-6500