|
 |
|
Green
Business Zone
Pasadena’s Green Plan Hits the Bottom Line
by
Lisa Lilienthal
Pasadena is that rare breed of city; a place where beauty (of the
architectural variety) and brains (of the rocket science type) collide.
It’s the best of old California, and it is poised for a clean and green
future, thanks to a dynamic mayor and a forward-thinking city council.
They have laid out an ambitious, seven-point Green City Action Plan, a
far-reaching initiative endorsed by the United Nations Green Cities
Declaration and Urban Environmental Accords. It addresses urban
environmental impacts ranging from energy, waste reduction and urban
design, to urban nature, transportation, environmental health and water
usage.
The plan is nearly two years in, and the City Council reports progress on
every front. In addition to support from sustainability advocates, it has
been embraced in a big way by some of Pasadena’s largest businesses.
Green Transportation
It takes more than local support for a transit-oriented infrastructure
to green what some would say is a city’s biggest challenge –
transportation. It takes entrepreneurs who are willing to take risks and
business leaders who will support the cause.
That’s where John Boesel, president and CEO of
CALSTART,
comes in. This Pasadena-based national nonprofit organization works with
companies and communities to develop clean and efficient transportation
technologies. CALSTART was founded in 1992, moved to Pasadena in 1998 and
recently purchased a headquarters building there.
“Pasadena has a reputation as a forward-looking community,” said Boesel.
“We feel strongly that CALSTART needs to be here; in the greater
metropolitan Los Angeles area, at the heart of the clean transportation
movement. Given the Green City Action Plan, we think Pasadena can become a
model city for transportation efficiency.”
Boesel points to Cal-Tech (California
Institute of Technology), emerging technologies at the
Art Center
College of Design and climate change research at NASA’s
Jet Propulsion
Laboratory as local sources for the talent and expertise
necessary to make Pasadena a leader, particularly in the challenging arena
of efficient transportation.
“We need communities that invest in multi-fuel service stations, and
individuals and entrepreneurs who will champion the effort,” said Boesel.
“CALSTART’s role is varied – facilitator, catalyst, strategic broker –
whatever it takes to get the right parties working together and to get
them access to expertise and funding. Pasadena is just the city to do this
and do it right.
“We are still working to understand the Green City Action Plan and what it
means for us and for Pasadena,” he adds, “but we’re extremely excited
about the possibilities.”
Clean Tech = Green Tech
It probably stands to reason that a city which is home to Cal-Tech,
JPL and the Art Center College of Design would also be home to a Nobel
Prize winning scientist. Professor Robert H. Grubbs, one of the recipients of the Nobel Prize in
2005 for development of olefin metathesis catalyst technology, has not
only demonstrated the viability of his invention, he has co-founded
Materia, Inc.
with Dr. Mike Giardello and others in 1998 to commercialize the
technology.
“Metathesis catalyst technology is inherently green technology,” said
Giardello, CEO of Materia, who worked for Professor Grubbs when as a post-doctoral
fellow at
Cal-Tech in the early 1990s. “Catalyst technology is to product
development what enzymes are to a biological system – agents that help
chemistry do its job more efficiently, using fewer resources and creating
fewer byproducts.”
An example is Materia’s pioneering work in creating environmentally
friendly pesticides that are pheromone-based. Using the company’s
proprietary catalyst technology, the reproductive cycle of bugs is
interrupted by the benign application of pheromones. It is not a new
approach to pest control, but the introduction of catalyst technology
means the product is more efficient and less expensive to produce, which
translates into broader availability.
As far as Giardello is concerned, Pasadena is the perfect place for
Materia to call home. “California leads the nation in clean tech and green
tech development,” he said. “Pasadena has a great business climate for
clean technology – there is access to venture capital and talent; the city
has a real grass roots commitment to sustainability.”
High Tech Trifecta
Eight years ago, Cal-Tech and the City of Pasadena developed a
partnership with a goal of growing the high-tech community in the San
Gabriel Valley. Fast-forward to 2008 and the public/private partnership
that has emerged is
Entretech,
chaired by Materia's Mike Giardello.
Entretech has expended the partnership to
include the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of
California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as well. It’s a high-tech trifecta that is
bringing technology companies and jobs to the region. While the
cross-section of industries has traditionally centered around
biotechnology, software developers and aerospace engineering, clean
technology is emerging as key in Pasadena.
Entretech empowers entrepreneurs to build new businesses by providing
access to educational programs and strategic partnerships, and
assistance for academics who are making the transition from classroom to
the boardroom.
“We offer a full complement of business development
services to support high-tech companies,” explains Executive Director
Stephanie Yanchinski. “From
locating real estate or finance to supplying leads to talent and strategic
partners, we help companies make that leap.”
“The City of Pasadena is an involved and supportive strategic partner to
Entretech,” says Yanchinski. “It makes sense
that the Green City Action Plan would help create an economic development
opportunity for clean tech.”
Note
On June 6, Entretech and the City of Pasadena will host
GreenTech
2008, the second annual showcase for start-up companies to
preview leading edge technologies that won’t be on the market for another
3 to 5 years.
|
