SOMERVILLE SEEKS EMERGING GREEN TECH PRODUCTS

EMERGING GREEN TECH COMPANIES: PITCH YOUR PRODUCT TO SOMERVILLE

City begins shaping new Green Tech Program to meet needs of start-up green tech innovators and the City’s sustainability goals

SOMERVILLE
–The American flag. Marshmallow Fluff. Measuring a City’s happiness.
What will come out of Somerville next? Green tech companies, Somerville
wants your great idea to take root and grow in ‘The Innovation City,’
and is looking for your best product pitch.

Emerging
green tech companies are invited to submit to the City information
about the projects and services they are looking to pilot, demonstrate
and launch through a Request for Information (RFI), which will be
released by the City on Tuesday, Oct. 21. Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone will
announce the release of the RFI at an event on Oct. 21 from 2 to 3 p.m.
at Greentown Labs, 28 Dane St. in Somerville. 

The
information gathered through this survey will be used to develop a new
Somerville Green Tech Program that aims to both meet the needs of
emerging green tech companies and the City’s sustainability goals.
Details about the program will be announced in early 2015.

Somerville
has set a goal to become carbon neutral by 2050. Emerging green tech
companies have new ideas they want to launch. And both go hand-in-hand.
By requesting information from green tech companies about what they are
working on, the City seeks to experiment and develop new ideas that will
support its own sustainability goals and shape how cities take on the
challenge of climate change, while entrepreneurs can gain a partner that
offers them the ability to further develop the next great
sustainability innovation.

Green tech companies are invited to fill out a survey online at somervillema.gov/greentech,
describing their technology, providing available links to demo or
informational materials, and explaining why the City would be a good
customer or test case for their technology. Responses are due by the end
of the day on Monday, Dec. 1. Copies of the RFI can also be downloaded
from the website.

"Somerville
is a city where we put our creative energy to work. Every day, members
of our community are developing innovative ways to solve urgent
environmental problems,” said Mayor Curtatone. “As a City, we see that
collaboration with emerging green technology companies will help us lead
the way in becoming a sustainable city. Fostering the development and
use of green technology in our community will sustain our environment
and economy, and it will help us reach our goal of net zero carbon
emissions by 2050."

City staff will also be on hand to answer questions at the launch event at Greentown Labs on Oct. 21. Questions
may also be directed before the end of the day on Saturday, Nov. 1, to
Somerville Director of Sustainability and Environment Oliver
Sellers-Garcia at 617-625-6600 ext. 2016 or ogarcia@somervillema.gov.
Written responses to submitted questions will be posted on the website
at somervillema.gov/greentech. An information session about this program
will also be held on Monday, Nov. 6, at 5-7 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing Co., 14 Tyler St. in Somerville.