Cove @ UCI resident and ecosystem partner Sustain OC (formerly CleanTech OC) was founded in 2010 to advance Orange County’s sustainability and cleantech industries. It has pursued its mission through innovation, collaboration, and education with a goal to promote job creation and economic growth throughout the county. In this endeavor, it has partnered with private, public and academic sectors in the Orange County region. Sustain OC’s ongoing initiatives include efforts in the areas of energy, water and transportation. As part of Energize California, a regional energy innovation cluster comprised of several Southern California counties, Sustain OC supports the cluster’s efforts which include collaborating with partners and hosting industry events across the region. Sustain OC’s Water Cluster and involvement in the Advanced Transportation Center of OC and the Inland Empire also serve as indicators of the organization’s commitment to a holistic approach to sustainability.
Evolving over the years, Sustain OC has attracted larger corporate partners, local government, schools, other non-profits, hospitals and a growing number of investors, thus changing the dynamic of the membership. As the scope of work has increased to include broader sustainability initiatives such as supply chain management, human capital management, recycling and more, the organization has rebranded itself from Cleantech OC to Sustain OC.
In spring of this year, Sustain OC engaged with the LACI. This forged a partnership to manage the Orange County portion of a grant awarded by the California Energy Commission to strengthen the region’s clean energy economy through support of the industry’s ecosystem – helping companies in this space bring new technologies to market.
In addition to uniting industry leaders to collaborate on common solutions and economic growth, Sustain OC is an information hub for all recent and reliable information on sustainability initiatives, practices and clean technologies; an advocate for its members throughout OC, Sacramento, and Washington D.C.; a mentor in driving the community towards sustainable growth; a platform to share best practices for sustainable solutions; a social media promotional vehicle bringing visibility to its members’ businesses; and an educator promoting awareness of sustainable matters.
Sustain OC provides five ways to engage as a member ranging from individual/startup to corporate stakeholder memberships, each including valuable benefits. Through a variety of engagement opportunities, members have access to the best local minds in sustainability, the latest technology and its C-suites, both private and public capital, in addition to research and facilities at universities and colleges. Sustain OC holds forums regularly for members to exchange ideas, information and business opportunities among large corporations, cleantech companies, local government, investors, academia and non-profits. Mentorship and advisory are also provided as a benefit, giving the community direction on sustainable practices such as business planning, strategic partnerships, supply chain management, human capital management, recycling, cleantech assessment integration and more. Sustain OC is on the cusp of expanding its reach beyond Orange County through these services as the organization continues to garner attention across Southern California.
Sustain OC also collaborates with its fellow tenants and UCI Applied Innovation’s ecosystem partners such as Auctus Global Capital Group, Blossom, The Executive Next Practices Institute, GenGirl Media, TriTech SBDC and OCTANe. It collaborates with UCI Applied Innovation’s Invention Transfer Group by introducing technology available to license to potential clients. Many UCI based startups have presented or tabled at Sustain OC conferences, accelerating the growth of the cleantech industry in the Orange County ecosystem and helping early stage cleantech companies gain more exposure to relevant industry stakeholders.
In addition to being housed at the Cove @ UCI at UCI Applied Innovation, Sustain OC is a strategic partner for UCI and is involved in a fuel cell initiative alongside the National Fuel Cell Research Center and the Advanced Power and Energy program on campus. Sustain OC also acts as the Advanced Transportation Center in Orange County, where members discuss best practices and the future of transportation with key stakeholders.
Each year, Sustain OC holds a series of large public conferences focused on legislative and sustainability issues. Sustain OC’s 2017 conference focused on energy innovation, bringing in key stakeholders from throughout the region to collaborate on the latest in energy storage, energy efficiency and renewable energy. The conference included keynotes from Dr. Michl Binderbauer of Tri Alpha Energy, Dipender Saluja of Capricorn LLC and Phil Graves of Tin Shed Ventures, and announced the award recipients for Cleantech Company of the Year, Sustainable Government of the Year, the Van Vlahakis Sustainability Excellence award and the Chairperson’s award.