North Carolina State study: Major manufacturing job cuts linked to slower shift toward sustainability

Researchers have found that sustainability planning was less likely to occur in areas that experienced significant manufacturing job losses in the last half-century, according to a new study.

The study, conducted by researchers at North Carolina State University and the National University of Singapore, also found the communities that suffered major employment losses didn't advance toward sustainability-related goals, according to a N.C. State news release.

“Sustainability is important for addressing large-scale social problems, such as global climate change,” said Christopher Galik, the study's co-author and  professor of public administration at North Carolina State, in the release. 

“But it’s also important to remember that sustainability can help make communities more competitive in the long term," he added. "It can drive down energy and water costs for residents and local government, it can help communities attract state and federal funding for infrastructure projects. Essentially sustainability makes communities more resilient, both economically and environmentally.”

The goal of the study was to see if any historical factors were attributed to whether communities were committed to sustainability. The researchers found that sudden shifts in industrial work was an important variable in the sustainability equation. 

According to the release, communities with huge job losses in short time-frames had a harder time making the shift toward sustainability, while those with smaller employment swings were more willing to embrace it. 

The researchers examined public data from more than 300 counties across the United States as of 2015. Employment data from those counties from 1969-2016 was also utilized. 

The release noted that a statistical tool to find "complex structural relationships" uncovered the link between sudden significant job cuts and a lack of sustainability plans or progress toward those goals. 

According to the release, the study stressed that as sustainability programs are designed and implemented, community history, context and conditions need to be taken into account, especially with federal funding for infrastructure, clean energy technology manufacturing and climate adaptation.