MUMBAI: With 'global warming' becoming a major concern world over, hiring of green professionals is likely to grow by up to 60 per cent this year, say experts. "Companies are today taking steps to become environment-friendly and are hiring green professionals, who can help them reduce energy consumption. "The demand for environmental professionals is expected to go up by 55-60 percent this year, as firms are raising their spending on creating clean technology, reducing emissions and wastage and regulating use of natural resources," Elixir Consulting Executive Director Kanika Vaswani told PTI. Green job is mainly defined as work in agricultural, manufacturing, research and development, administrative and service activities that contribute substantially to preserving or restoring environmental quality, she said. An environmental professional reviews the direct and indirect impact of products on the ecology and devise strategies to protect the atmosphere, she added. Green jobs can either be white or blue-collar in sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, R&D, administration and service activities like IT and finance. With growing demand for green buildings, the real estate sector is likely to emerge as one of the biggest recruiters of green professionals, she said. Elixir has observed a trend of hiring environment professionals in the FMCG and retail sector as well. Companies are offering attractive salaries to green professionals, which varies, Vaswani said adding that at middle-level, the package is usually at Rs 12 lakh and Rs 35-40 lakh at senior positions.