N E W S   R E L E A S E

January 16, 2008

Contact: Cathy Crumbley, 978-934-2980

UMass Lowell Report Finds Massachusetts
Leads in Clean Technologies

LOWELL – Massachusetts has the potential to be a national and world-wide leader in the innovation and adoption of clean technologies, but urgently needs to harness resources and incentives to achieve this potential according to “Clean Tech: An Agenda for a Healthy Economy,” the initial report of the Clean Tech Project spearheaded by the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

The goal of the Clean Tech Project is to position Massachusetts as the center of innovative clean technologies that serve the world. The interim report, posted on www.sustainableproduction.org, identifies the Commonwealth’s leadership and opportunities for growth in five clean tech areas—safer alternatives to toxic chemicals, green buildings, emerging materials, clean energy, and materials reuse.

“The work of the Clean Tech project members highlights the unique opportunity before us. We’re at a pivotal point where we have the potential to showcase to the world that three areas of great concern to society can be married in practice--good jobs, a strong economy, and a healthy environment,” said Marty Meehan, Chancellor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. “To achieve this, we need the right combination of leadership, policies, and incentives,” he continued.

While many states are creating policies that support individual clean technologies, such as renewable energy, no state yet has developed a comprehensive strategy to reorient its economy based on a range of clean technologies. The project team recommends ten specific ways that policy makers could accelerate progress in Massachusetts such as articulating a clear vision for the state, creating a state office of clean technology, and stimulating collaboration among industry, education, and government.

“The burst of activity in the past year in clean technologies was unprecedented from capital investment to company growth. It really was tremendous and this bodes well for the huge market opportunities at stake,” said Thomas R. Burton, III, Chair of the Energy and Clean Tech. Practice Group at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo P.C., as well as a member of the Clean Tech Project’s Advisory Committee. “The golden nugget for Massachusetts is our concentration of high tech knowledge. I believe that if we seriously focus on clean technologies, we could greatly expand our transformation to an innovation-driven economy. But we need to be nimble, quick, and persistent.”

The project team gathered input from roundtable discussions with leaders in the Massachusetts business community and labor, environmental, and government organizations as well as from the project’s diverse Advisory Committee.

“This is a clear case of environmentalists, workers, and industry on the same page—innovation that drives the economy that by its nature won’t hurt workers or the environment. I’m convinced that together we can work to propel Massachusetts to the forefront of the clean technology worldwide market,” Joel Tickner, lead principal investigator of the project and Assistant Professor at UMass Lowell.

Slated to be completed in mid 2008, the Clean Tech project team will take a deeper look at its initial findings and include specific recommendations in policy, research and development, partnership building, investment, business assistance, and education.

UMass Lowell, with a national reputation in science, engineering and technology, is committed to educating students for lifelong success in a diverse world and conducting research and outreach activities that sustain the economic, environmental and social health. UML offers its 11,000 students more than 120 degree choices, internships, five-year combined bachelor’s to master’s programs and doctoral studies in the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Engineering and Management, the School of Health and Environment, and the Graduate School of Education. www.uml.edu.

The Lowell Center for Sustainable Production at UMass Lowell uses rigorous science, collaborative research, and innovative strategies to promote communities, workplaces, and products that are healthy, humane, and respectful of natural systems. The Center is composed of faculty, staff, and graduate students at the University of Massachusetts Lowell who work collaboratively with citizen groups, workers, businesses, institutions, and government agencies to build healthy work environments, thriving communities, and viable businesses that support a more sustainable world.

To download a pdf copy of the report, click here.

Clean Tech Advisory Committee