Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Office of Economic and Business Policy are committed to making Los Angeles the greenest big city in the nation and a global capital of clean technology. Through leading environmental initiatives, the Mayor is cleaning up the City's air and water, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating a green economy in L.A.

Los Angeles has some of the most progressive environmental policies and initiatives in the nation, resulting in more than $1 billion of investment in cleantech programs such as sustainable development, renewable energy, and clean transportation. Over the next 10 years, L.A. will invest $10 billion in the City's cleantech industry.

Renewable Energy and Greenhouse reductions

Through the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the City will get 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010. By 2020, the City has committed to reach 40 percent renewables and eliminate coal-fired power plants. This program represents a multibillion dollar investment in clean energy technologies.

Through its "Green LA" plan, L.A. has an ambitious goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent below 1990 levels. The City is on target to exceed international standards four years ahead of schedule.

L.A. is on track to become the center of U.S. solar energy development, creating 200 - 400 jobs in R&D manufacturing, installation and maintenance for every 10 megawatts of solar power generated.

CleanTech

Los Angeles is creating a Cleantech Corridor where business incentives and public investments in research and manufacturing will catalyze the growth of a cleantech cluster and green manufacturing jobs in Downtown L.A.

The heart of the Cleantech Corridor is the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, which will accelerate development of cleantech start-ups by offering flexible office space, CEO coaching and mentoring, and access to a growing network of experts and capital.

Moreover, Los Angeles has developed an extensive R&D network by partnering with Caltech, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, UCLA, USC and L.A.'s premier business groups to make Los Angeles a global leader in the clean technology sector.

More about CleanTech LA and the Cleantech Incubator

Green Building Program

The City has mandated green building standards for all new public and large private construction projects, creating a market for innovating building materials and designs to reduce energy and water consumption. L.A. is also implementing incentives for private green developments in a committed effort to spur job growth and innovation in the green retrofitting and materials market.

More about Green Building Program

Green L.A.

Through Mayor Villaraigosa's "GreenLA" plan, Los Angeles has set measurable goals designed to enhance business while reducing the City's carbon footprint. Some of GreenLA's major goals include:

• Recycling 70 percent of solid waste by 2015, a figure that exceeds California's ambitious recycling goals. Currently, Los Angeles has a solid waste diversion rate of 65 percent which represents the highest diversion rate amongst the nation's five biggest cities.
• Investing in alternative fuel vehicles, including nearly half of the City's refuse trucks and street sweepers, 188 buses, and nearly 1,000 hybrid passenger cars, to save more than 10 million gallons of fuel annually.
• Ensuring that the Port of L.A. reduces 80 percent of truck related pollution at the harbor. The City already has phased out 5,000 of the dirtiest diesel trucks hauling port cargo. This plan includes a multimillion dollar investment fund to develop clean transportation technologies in Los Angeles to further clean up the port.
• Eliminating coal-fired power plants that run on 40 percent renewable energy by 2020.

More about Green L.A.

Expediting Mass Transit Expansion via 30/10

Los Angeles has built more miles of rail transit in the past 20 years than any other U.S. city, and is engaged in an ambitious expansion project that will add 12 new transit projects. The Mayor's 30/10 initiative, which would allow for the construction of 30 years' worth of mass transit projects in 10 years, would expedite Los Angeles's transformation into a world-class sustainable transit metropolis.

Impact of 30/10:

• 160,000 new jobs created.
• 77 million more transit boardings annually.
• 521,000 fewer pounds of emissions annually.
• 10.3 million fewer gallons of gasoline used annually.
• 191 million fewer vehicle miles traveled annually.

Los Angeles's rapidly growing Metro transit system is changing the face of L.A., opening up new economic and development opportunities. Click here to find out more about Metro's under-construction and proposed projects.

More about Metro 30/10

To learn how greening your business in LA can save you money, click here