LOS ANGELES—Mayor Eric Garcetti today joined Vice President Joe Biden and leaders in the clean-technology industry for a roundtable discussion on renewable energy, green business, and public-private partnerships in Los Angeles.
The roundtable was held on the La Kretz Innovation Campus in Downtown L.A. — home of the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI). There, entrepreneurs are developing new ideas and companies that will create green jobs and build a more sustainable future.
“One year ago, I said that Los Angeles would become one of the most sustainable cities in America,” said Mayor Garcetti. “We are delivering on that pledge: cutting emissions 80% by 2050, getting off coal by 2025, and embedding sustainability into everything we do. Here at LACI, the City of Los Angeles is leveraging federal dollars to support a state-of-the-art innovation campus and non-profit incubator that helps the private sector envision the future — then build it in ways that are more sustainable and innovative than many of us ever thought possible.”
“Los Angeles is seen to be leading and believing in the potential of innovation more than any other part of the country, because your Mayor has a vision and a sense of optimism,” said Vice President Biden.
“This incubator brings together innovative minds with the courage to take a chance on a new idea,” continued Vice President Biden. “There is a power in technological and financial resources coming together to take ideas from paper to product to marketplace.”
Mayor Garcetti’s sustainability agenda, which also includes aggressive solar power and green building targets, is detailed in the city’s first-ever Sustainable City Plan (plan.lamayor.org). This comprehensive policy roadmap is preparing Los Angeles for an environmentally healthy, economically prosperous, and equitable future in a city that expects population growth of 500,000 people over the next 20 years.
The Los Angeles region is home to the largest cluster of green jobs in the country — accounting for about 3.9% of total employment and 4.5% of private sector employment.
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About the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI)
Launched in October 2011, LACI is a non-profit with about 20 employees, created by the City of Los Angeles. LACI, which moved into LKIC last week, is firmly established as an innovation leader and hub for entrepreneurialism. LACI was recently selected by UBI-Global as the #6 incubator in the world, and one of two “High Impact Incubation Programs in North America.” To date, LACI has hosted 40 portfolio companies for which they have raised $60m+ and created 620 jobs.
With over 80 mentors and advisors, $3M annual operating revenue, satellite campuses at CSUN and the Silicon Valley Center for Innovation, and a five person board, LACI estimates an overall economic impact of $165 million by the end of 2015. LACI’s advisory board is comprised of 31 organizations, including city government leaders, local/regional utilities, major research universities, business groups, financial institutions and nonprofits.
LACI was recently awarded $729,000 by the U.S. Department of Energy to create a statewide consortium of clean tech incubators. Additionally, LACI was chosen by JPMorgan Chase & Co. to be part of its Small Business Forward program, which is a five-year, $30 million grant program to boost small business support networks that help growing enterprises in specific industries. The California Energy Commission also awarded funds to a consortium of Southern California-based organizations, led by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation to establish the Advanced Transportation Center. LACI will host and manage the LA component of the project.
About the La Kretz Innovation Campus (LKIC)
The La Kretz Innovation Campus (LKIC) is Los Angeles’ new clean tech industry hub. It is located in a renovated 60,000 square foot building in the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles. The campus comprises 3.2 acres and is owned by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).
LKIC has space for 100 companies (230 desks), a world-class prototyping lab, wet lab, welding lab, computer lab, workforce training and development space, energy efficiency R&D facility and a technology demonstration space. The building is the first micro-grid in the City of Los Angeles and will be powered in part by a 180KW solar farm which covers most of the main parking lot.
