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

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.