PROJECTIONS 2008: SILICON VALLEY GETS "CLEAN & GREEN"

Silicon Valley Leadership Group Reports Strong Regional Response to Challenges of Climate Change, Sustainability

Employers, Workers, Communities All Actively Engaged in Proactive Solutions for Greenhouse Gas Reduction, Cleantech, Energy Efficiency, Green Building

California Attorney General Jerry Brown, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, Venture Capital leader John Doerr, VMware CEO Diane Greene to Headline Leadership Group’s “Clean and Green” Forum Sept. 26 in Santa Clara

Silicon Valley is broadly embracing a “Clean and Green” business imperative, with employers, workers and communities widely engaged on a regional level in their response to climate change, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group reported today in its “Silicon Valley Projections 2008” study.

Download the full report.

The report outlines a range of innovations, growth and improvements in cleantech, biofuel research, alternative energy sources, solar power, commute options, environmental policy, green building standards and workforce initiatives underway in Silicon Valley and the state.

"In great Silicon Valley fashion our communities have moved to action on climate related issues but there is much more to be done," said Mike Splinter, president and CEO of Applied Materials and board chair of the Leadership Group. “This report touches on many of the most important business issues and environmental challenges we face today.”

“Across the board our member companies, their employees, industry and government leaders, and community organizations are going clean and green,” said Carl Guardino, CEO of the Leadership Group. “We have seen more engagement on these issues on a higher level than ever, and we project even more in 2008.”

This year’s report, the 11th annual “Silicon Valley Projections,” is published in conjunction with a major public forum that the Leadership Group is conducting on the state of “Clean and Green” issues on Wednesday, September 26, at Santa Clara University.

The forum features keynote remarks from California Attorney General Jerry Brown, Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi, State Treasurer Bill Lockyer, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, Air Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols, venture capital leader John Doerr and VMware CEO Diane Greene. Reservations and more information are available on the Leadership Group web site at www.svlg.net.

The 52-page study covers the latest developments in "Clean and Green" innovation, research, legislation, government policy and related topics in six policy areas: Economic Vitality, Energy, Transportation, Environment, Housing, and Workforce & Education. Each section contains detailed charts and data comparing Silicon Valley with other top tech regions of the country, best practices in each policy area and “Opportunities for Action” – ways everyone can get involved, with helpful links to organizations and programs.

Guardino said hundreds of companies and thousands of workers are helping the community to counteract the effects of climate change in positive ways. To illustrate the scope of how Silicon Valley has become engaged in this effort, the Leadership Group cited this Top 10 List of examples:

Top 10 Ways Silicon Valley Is Getting “Clean & Green”

1. Here Comes the Sun (SolarTech): At a major energy summit in June, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group launched the regional Center for Excellence – SolarTech – to aid in setting solar industry standards for products, installation, permitting workforce development and contracting. More than 100 Bay Area companies are involved in solar energy research, development or installation. As part of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's $3.3 billion, “Million Solar Roofs” program, the California Solar Initiative has set a goal to create 3,000 megawatts of new, solar-produced electricity by 2017 and provides up to $2.5 billion in incentives toward solar development over eleven years. California represents 75 percent of the U.S. market for solar energy; third globally behind Japan and Germany.

2. Power Rangers (Energy Watch Partnerships): Fifteen Silicon Valley Leadership Group member employers have committed to a combined electricity reduction of greater than 24 million kilowatt hours (kWh), thus saving these members $3.5 million per year in electricity costs, motivated by an additional $4.5 million of utility incentives. This is equivalent to 15,000 tons of carbon dioxide reduced, 1.5 million gallons of gasoline carbon dioxide emissions avoided, or powering nearly 3,800 homes for a year.

3. Classical Gas (Transportation Fuels): Global energy firm BP selected the University of California, Berkeley, in partnership with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, to lead an unprecedented $500 million research effort to develop new sources of energy, notably transportation fuels from plants and plant materials. Further, the U.S. Department of Energy has allocated $125 million to six Bay Area research facilities.

4. Easy Being Green (Green Building Standards): Officials from 30 Silicon Valley cities attended the Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s Green Building Workshop at Adobe in June to explore programs and policies in effect at the national, state and local level. Participants included officials from the California Energy Commission, the Northern California chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), Healthy Buildings USA, Build It Green (BIG) and AIA Santa Clara Valley. In partnership with the Santa Clara County Cities Association, the Leadership Group is producing uniform policies for consideration across jurisdictions.

5. Team Chemistry (Environment): The Leadership Group is proactively engaged in the California Green Chemistry Initiative to transform chemical management, which will affect every business in the state. The Leadership Group co-hosted a public workshop with CalEPA and has coordinated and submitted to CalEPA dozens of specific recommendations for improving chemical management and regulatory processes in California. The Initiative will culminate in a set of specific policy recommendations expected in January 2008. More than 40 pieces of legislation in California currently focus on some aspect of chemical or hazardous product management.

6. A Simple Equation (Middle School Math Initiative): Facing acute workforce shortages in skilled tech workers, more than two dozen Silicon Valley Leadership Group member companies have committed to a three-year program to upgrade elementary and middle school math education. The “Laboratory for Learning” program funded professional development training for 38 teachers this year, benefiting some 3000 students as a beta test. The goal is to train 120 teachers in the second and third year, positively impacting 15,000 students in 20 schools across 14 districts.

7. Battery Park (Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles): A dozen companies, at the urging of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, have committed to placing soft orders for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles - hybrids with a larger battery that plugs into a standard household outlet. PHEVs would substantially reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.

8. Cool Commutes (Solo Driving Alternatives): Some 55 Silicon Valley Leadership Group member companies are participating in “Cool Commutes,” a yearlong competition to reduce solo driving to work, cut carbon emissions and lower dependence on foreign oil by encouraging more use of carpools, public transit, cycling, walking, teleworking or other alternative means of commuting. The second year of the competition begins in November.

9. CEOs in Spandex (Bike to Work Day Event): More than 50 Silicon Valley CEOs and public officials participated in the Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s “CEO/Celebrity Cycle-to-Work Day Challenge” in conjunction with national Bike to Work Day on May 17 to demonstrate support for commute alternatives to solo driving. Each CEO personally biked to work that day, encouraged all their employees to do likewise, and hosted a “Celebration Station” at the company with refreshments for all who participated.

10. Right on the Money (VC Investment Growth): Venture capital investment in greentech rose to $1.13 billion last year – an 80 percent increase over 2005. John Doerr, a partner with Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield & Byers, a leading Silicon Valley venture firm focusing on greentech, is a keynote speaker at the Leadership Group’s Projections 2008: Clean and Green event September 26 at Santa Clara.

The Projections report and public forum are sponsored by Applied Materials, Coyote Housing Group, Genentech, Intel, KLIV/KRTY, NBC11, PG&E, Robert Half, Santa Clara University, the San Jose Mercury News, SAP, Stanford Hospitals, Synopsys and Wells Fargo Bank.