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Webinar: Agenda for a Massachusetts Clean Tech Economy

Speakers:
Ken Geiser, Professor of Work Environment and Co-Director of the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, University of Massachusetts Lowell
David Cash, Assistant Secretary for Policy, Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs
Greg Bialecki, Secretary, Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development
Amy Perlmutter, Principal, Perlmutter Associates
Lee Ketelsen, New England Co-Director, Clean Water Action
Lisa Petraglia, Director of Economic Research, Economic Development Research Group
Bob Halpin, Principal, Intelligent Energy Resources

The webinar was held on May 26, 2010 but you can listen and watch it here:

 

Recommendations for Promoting a Clean Tech Economy in Massachusetts

The Clean Tech Initiative has developed recommendations for making Massachusetts a national and international hub of innovation and adoption of clean technologies. The project recognizes that making the transition to a Clean Tech economy requires a commitment from elected officials, state agencies, public and private research institutions, environmental groups, businesses, and others. Based on the initiative's research and outreach activities, the Clean Tech Policy Recommendations [6-page pdf] provide guidance for each of these actors.

 

 

Ten Ways to Support a Clean Tech Economy

  1. Create a “Clean Tech Blueprint” for Massachusetts That Establishes a Clear Vision, Goals, Metrics, and Leadership Roles.
    By articulating a clear vision, goals, performance standards (such as energy efficiency, recycled content, or toxicity), and desired environmental and public health outcomes, government can set the parameters under which companies in the marketplace develop new technologies, and create conditions for those to thrive.

  2. Create a Massachusetts Brand or Identity for All Clean Tech Activity.
    Developing this identity through public relations and marketing tools—such as a central web portal of Clean Tech activities and resources—and the use of the bully pulpit by state leaders to promote Clean Tech assets and products, will help the state emerge as a Clean Tech powerhouse that attracts investment, research, and business activity.
  3. Track Massachusetts Competitiveness by Creating an “Index of the Massachusetts Green Innovation Economy.”
    Similar to the John Adams Institute's Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy, the Green Innovation Index would determine indicators that are important in creating the Clean Tech economy, measure these indicators, and compare our progress in meeting them against other states that are Clean Tech leaders.

  4. Create a State Office of Clean Technology (or Clean Tech Coordinating Council).
    To institutionalize its Clean Tech Blueprint, a governance and support structure is needed. This can be a new State Office of Clean Technology, or a Clean Tech Coordinating Council comprising the directors of all key state agencies who would have a role in implementing and updating the Blueprint.

  5. Create Regional Clean Tech Centers of Excellence.
    A network of Regional Centers of Excellence would bring together leading businesses, researchers, labor leaders, environmental and health advocates, and researchers to identify and implement cutting-edge research, create partnerships, apply for funding, and act as a clearinghouse for Clean Tech information.
  6. Stimulate Collaboration and Cross-Fertilization of Technologies.
    The state can foster a culture of collaboration within and among sectors and technologies, including industries that may not yet be“clean.” This would not only help create partnerships among business, government, environmental and health advocates, and researchers, but help share knowledge and define needs and priorities that lead to environmental innovations and are more likely to attract funding.
  7. Support Manufacturing as a Viable Sector.
    State officials must market and strengthen the Commonwealth’s unique capacity for highPolicy Actions for Five Clean Tech Areas end, first-run, niche manufacturing in all parts of the Clean Tech supply chain, so that it can thrive in the long term. The state’s manufacturers should also be assisted in adopting environmental practices that help them stay competitive by saving energy, recycling wastes, and using less toxic substances.
  8. Develop a Trained Workforce.
    Business and labor leaders, community colleges, vocational technology schools, workforce investment boards, regional employment boards, one-stop career centers, and other training agencies should be brought together to identify current and future workforce needs and how to fill them. Green jobs legislation should expand beyond the energy sector, and job and training forecasts be performed for future employment and training needs.
  9. Regulate, Procure, and Invest.
    The state needs to show that it will provide long-term support for Clean Technologies and is committed to creating competitive conditions for their development and implementation. These market signals can help give entrepreneurs the confidence to innovate and spur change. However, any policies or specifications should encourage continuous improvement, not a static solution.
  10. Take Risks to Spur Innovations.
    Agencies and programs that fund Clean Tech activities should be a little less risk averse when determining projects to fund. Even if a project fails, there is still something to learn and benefits that can be gained. Being less cautious may yield exciting breakthroughs.

 

The recommendations are based on the project's final report Clean Tech: An Agenda for a Healthy Economy [32-page pdf]. This full report details the case for making Massachusetts a clean tech leader. It describes Massachusetts business assets, academic and educational assets, and the assets, barriers, and opportunities of three regions in Massachusetts. The report also summarizes findings from research conducted as part of the Clean Tech project.

Initial Clean Tech Report [32-page pdf] December 2007. This initial report outlines Massachusetts' Clean Tech strengths, describes fives areas in which Massachusetts is poised for Clean Tech leadership, ten steps for building a Clean Tech economy, and a vision of what an economy based on clean technologies would like.

 

See also:

A Place for Clean Technology Boston Globe op-ed by Amy Perlmutter and Joel Tickner. October 6, 2008

Telephone Survey of Boston Small Businesses Regarding the Adoption of Green Business Practices. August 2008. By Rebecca Loveland, Raija Vaisanen and Matt Hoover. For the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production and the Boston Redevelopment Authority

Case study:  Complying with Clean Product Mandates for the European Market. February 2009. By Economic Development Research Group. This report researched the economic impacts for Massachusetts’s firms of the 2006 implementation of the EU directive for Reduction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) in electronics imports. The analysis focuses on the potential loss to Massachusetts firms if they do not comply with ROHS (and therefore could not export their products to Europe).

UML