Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | January 8, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 31 By Samantha McDonald Samantha McDonald is real estate lawyer with Worcester law firm Bowditch & Dewey, concentrating on business and real estate property law. 1) Worcester is in the vanguard of the climate change fight. The City of Worces- ter pledged two years ago to become the nation's greenest midsize city, and it may well achieve that goal. Worcester is one of only a few dozen midsized cities in the country to adopt the specialized stretch code, a strict building code to prepare it for a fossil-free future, according to the New Buildings Institute. Almost all the other cities its size with such ambitious plans are in California and New York. As of Dec. 5, only Boston, Worcester and 29 other much smaller Massachusetts communities have adopted the rigorous code. 2) Cars are not our biggest prob- lem. Contrary to popular belief, the largest single contributor to Worcester's greenhouse gas emissions are buildings, which make up 65% of greenhouse gas emissions. Heating, cooling, and electricity used by commercial buildings created more than 700,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2019. That was 200,000+ metric tons more than Worcester's on-road trans- portation that year. 3) Making buildings less dependent on fossil fuels is not prohibitively expen- sive. While it certainly costs to make buildings more energy efficient, and even more money to prepare them to run only on electricity, these changes bring signifi- cant cost savings, too. With tax and other financial incentives, it can cost between 1%-5% more for new residential building projects to meet the highest energy-effi- ciency standards like Passive House, said Eliza Datta, president of E3 Development, said at Bowditch's annual economic de- velopment summit in November. But operational savings can be significant, she said, with heating and cooling cost savings projected to be as much as 50% lower. 4) Green buildings do a lot more than improve the environment. These build- ings offer significant health benefits, reduc- ing indoor air pollution and noisy acous- tics. Asthma rates drop in green buildings. 5) The building changes could bring more jobs to the city. The new require- ments under the code will bring more work for local tradesmen, Odell said at the summit. The pipeline for such workers in Worcester is really good and will provide an increase in HVAC, solar, electricity distribution, and maintenance jobs. e second part of Samantha McDonald's col- umn on sustainable development will appear in the Jan. 22 edition of WBJ. Providing life-changing employment BY EMILY MICUCCI Special to WBJ D oes the new year have you, once again, considering a career shi? According to Forbes, if you make the leap to a new role or industry, you probably won't be sorry. Last fall, contributor Caroline Castrillon cited an Indeed survey showing 88% of mid-career changers reported being happier in their new positions. But if you're a seasoned professional, a lot of factors can hold you back. e money and time investment it may take to enter a new field can seem prohibitive, and work and personal demands are distracting. If you have a nagging sense you'd be better suited to a different job, and you're not just looking for an escape from a negative work environment, heed some helpful tips from experts to elevate your career. Check your motives. Worthwhile as it may be, changing careers aer investing in your existing field for years is not without cost. Be sure you're in need of a whole new field, not just a different employer or supervisor, Castrillon cautions. at may mean volunteering in your prospective field, or just spending a lot of time talking to people who are already there. Sell yourself. If you're hoping to enter a new industry at say, 40, don't view yourself as a newbie starting on the ground floor. Prospective employers may be highly interested in your transferable skills and less bothered by the fact you come from a different line of work. FlexJobs lists leadership, writing ability, project management, and creativity among the many strengths to highlight if you're looking to switch gears. Be sure to highlight these and other qualities your career demonstrates to date in your communication with hiring companies. Trust the timing. Once you're serious about making a change, realize the timing may take, well, time. Even with solid transferable skills, finding the right new work situation will require finesse and patience, writes Utkarsh Amitabh for Harvard Business Review. It took several attempts to make an internal transfer to a new department, but one successful project was his key to transitioning from corporate strategy to business development before leading his own venture full-time. e lesson: bide your time and cultivate grit. M A K I N G A C A R E E R C H A N G E W W Timothy Johnson is vice president at nonprofit Seven Hills Foundation, overseeing programming operations at ASPiRE!, which provides health and workforce services. BY TIM JOHNSON Special to WBJ F or individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities (IDD), meaningful community employment can be life changing. It's more than a paycheck, a routine, or a place to go. Having a competitive job can give people a work identify that builds confidence, boosts self-esteem, and fosters increased independence carrying over into other areas of life. We see examples of this virtually every day in our work at Seven Hills Foundation in Worcester. One example of a young man supported through the ASPiRE! program highlights just how life changing employment can be for individuals with IDD. is young man – we'll call him Nate – joined a community-based day and employment supports program with Seven Hills when he turned 22 and transitioned to adult services. Nate initially presented himself as shy and unsure, hesitant to speak or even make eye contact with others, oen looking away when passing people in the hallway. But Nate wanted to work. He just needed some support to explore opportunities and enhance his social and functional skills to succeed in employment. In a group-supported setting alongside peers and with the support of a job coach, Nate began working at AIS, a large furniture manufacturer in Leominster, in 2021. At first performing basic sanitizing and custodial tasks, Nate had the opportunity to explore different jobs at AIS and soon started training in production departments of interest to him. Nate has maintained a daily work schedule at AIS for more than two years, performing production in one of the manufacturing stations, assembling inserts for cabinets and office furniture. He and his peers produce approximately 25% of all pieces coming out of that department daily with high quality control and a reject rate of virtually 0% upon completion. is is work requiring careful assembly, attention to detail, and precision. Nate performs this work exceptionally well and is regularly recognized by coworkers and leaders at AIS for his high performance. During a visit to AIS, I observed Nate not only engaging in conversation with others but presenting in front of a group of peers, some of whom were new to that worksite. He provided a demonstration and instruction on how to perform assembly work. He spoke not only with confidence, but with a quality of leadership in what I observed to be a sincere case to support others to learn the job and be successful. Rick Marchand, collaborative program coordinator at AIS, has made inclusivity a priority for the organization. "AIS is honored and humbled to provide job skill training, employment opportunities, and embracing the true values of inclusion in the workplace," Marchand said. anks to partner employers like AIS, organizations making it a priority to improve diversity and enhance inclusion, people like Nate can find their niche and not only succeed, but exceed expectations and deliver tremendous value to their employers, coworkers, and communities at-large. W 10 THINGS I know about... ... Sustainable development, part 1

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