Map Shows LA County to Benefit from Green Business
Los Angeles County has more businesses than any other county in California that stand to benefit from the state's leadership on climate change, according to a first-of-its-kind map of green businesses in California.
The map was released in conjunction with a report from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) outlining how the Los Angeles area can leverage its environmental leadership to create economic opportunities.
The California Green Economy map features more than 2,200 businesses* statewide in four categories—energy generation, energy efficiency, green building, and transportation—that are likely to grow as the state transitions to a low-carbon economy. Companies on the map can be sorted by city, county, and congressional district.
The top five counties are:
- Los Angeles County – 398 companies
- San Diego County – 208 companies
- Orange County – 202 companies
- Santa Clara County – 173 companies
- Alameda County – 131 companies
"To our knowledge, this is the first time that a map of California's green companies has been published online, creating a visual dynamic resource for people to better understand what a green economy looks like," said Tim O'Connor, an attorney and California climate change analyst at EDF. "As Congress considers a federal climate bill modeled after California's Global Warming Solutions Act, this map gives local members of Congress a preview of the footprint of the green economy, both statewide and in each district."
Southern California alone has more than 1,000 green companies, according to the Los Angeles Greenprint report, which details how the implementation of Green LA and Solar LA initiatives proposed by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa are expected produce high-quality green jobs for people living in the area.
Implementation of Green LA will be overseen by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the largest public power utility in the country and the utility that uses the most solar energy nationwide. The plan calls for fighting global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions 35 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 through the use of renewable energy, conservation, new green building standards, and strategic land use planning. Solar LA calls for growing the region's green economy by adding 1.3 gigawatts of solar power by 2020, enough to meet 10 percent of L.A.'s energy needs and more than is currently available nationwide.
"Los Angeles and Southern California are uniquely vulnerable to climate change because of existing pollution problems, our coastal setting, and overstretched water supplies," said Erica Fick, an EDF clean energy fellow based in Los Angeles, who co-authored the report. "Green LA and Solar LA will be a shot in the arm for the entire Southern California economy, creating a lasting upswing in the manufacturing, construction, technology, and "green" service sectors."
*The California map is not comprehensive and does not include all companies; for example, businesses that purchase renewable energy but whose products and services are not part of the green economy were not included.