Probing “green” industry enterprises in the UK: A new identification approach

There is a growing interest in innovation for sustainability and the development of green industries and green jobs. But how can green industries, green manufacturing jobs, and green goods innovation be measured? This paper probes current and recent attempts to define and measure these categories, with a focus on studies in the UK. We review the methods, estimates and trends contained in these studies. While these efforts have value, they also raise significant conceptual and measurement issues. The paper discusses a series of these issues and considers strategies to further refine the categorization and detection of green sector enterprises. A new identification approach is put forward using search term combinations and text mining to discern green goods sector companies. This method is tested through a search of small and medium-size green goods enterprises in the UK. Findings from our search approach are presented, along with a discussion of advantages and limitations.