Focus Areas

Clean Technology Research
Workforce Development
Business Development
Entrepreneur and Startup Support
Regional Sustainability
State and Federal Advocacy
Tracking Progress

Accomplishing regional goals demands focus from a broad partnership of people and organizations. Below is a glimpse of GCA’s focus areas each partner’s role in the success of the Clean Energy Technology economy.

Clean Tech Research

Workforce Development

  • Sacramento Employment and Training Agency (SETA) and Sacramento Works connects people to jobs, business owners to quality employees, education and nutrition to children, assistance to refugees, and hope to many Sacramento area residents.

  • SETA was awarded five Clean Energy Workforce Training grants funding new job training and certificate programs. Training programs target Alternative Vehicles and Fuels and Green Building skills.

Golden Sierra WIB

  • Golden Sierra Workforce Investment Board provides workforce development leadership to meet the needs of local businesses, adults and youth in Alpine, El Dorado and Placer counties. The board strives to create an economy attractive for employers who create and sustain jobs, and works with a variety of community partners to develop workforce readiness programs.

los rios logo

  • Los Rios Community College District’s GreenForce Initiative trains in 12 green-focused areas including Alternative Fuels and Vehicles, Energy Auditing and Management, Green Building, Solar Technology, Water Management, and more.

  • University of Phoenix offers Bachelors of Science, Business, and MBA degrees. Programs are tailored to meet unique demands of the local economy.

  • Sacramento State is home to nationally recognized Engineering, Business, and Certificate programs implement new technologies and produce a skilled workforce.

  • UC Davis’s front-running clean energy research institutes and programs, Graduate School of Management, and technology transfer activities are staffed by over 100 energy-focused faculty.

  • Sierra College’s Photovoltaic Technician training program prepares students for the NABCEP exam – Over 80% passing rate in 2010.

  • LEED prepares students within for success in careers here in the region. Works with area employers, educators and civic partners to cross organizational silos and align local education resources with current and future workforce needs.
  • Annual LEED Convergence event unites clean tech training providers with local business leaders.

Business Development

  • Assists companies to locate and expand within the Sacramento region. About half of clients are clean energy companies.
  • Travels nationally and overseas to promote, market and recruit, and also provides technical assistance to contacts already interested in the area.

  • The CleanStart initiative accelerates the development of clean energy technology ventures within the greater Sacramento Region. Staff works to help entrepreneurs assemble solid management teams, secure adequate funding, and accelerate commercialization.
  • Hosts annual Sacramento Clean Tech Showcase conference.

  • The region’s largest business organization provides advocacy, networking services, and resources for nearly 2,200 businesses.
  • The chamber’s MetroPulse program connects businesses to economic development resources.

  • Partnered in creating an annual Internal Study Mission, with a focus on the emerging clean energy technology market.
  • Helps businesses connect to green contracts and diverse suppliers.

Entrepreneur and Startup Support

  • Assists clean energy technology companies to locate and expand, and prosper in the Sacramento Region. SACTO markets and recruits for the Region, and also provides information, resources, and technical assistance in the pursuit of jobs, talent, and investment.

  • SARTA’s Sacramento Venture Lab entrepreneurial development center serves as a catalyst to accelerate the growth of innovative technology companies. The lab brings together business incubation services and linkage to resources of Sacramento State and UC Davis.

  • Innovation Access Center supports local entrepreneurship by providing commercialization support for early-stage UC Davis technologies, and connecting research to the marketplace.

Regional Sustainability

  • Works to achieve clean air goals by leading the region in protecting public health and the environment through innovative programs and community education. Works directly with local, state and federal government agencies, the business community, environmental groups, and private citizens.

  • The nation’s sixth largest publicly owned utility in terms of customers served, with a reputation for innovative, progressive clean energy and community involvement programs. The utility runs one of the nation’s top-ten green power programs.

  • Provides electricity and natural gas to 40% of Californians. In the Sacramento Region, PG&E has installed over 1 million Smart Meters.

State and Federal Advocacy

  • Takes federal and state advocacy positions in support of clean energy technology during its annual Capitol-to-Capitol and State Advocacy Day events, and provides political support for local policies.

Tracking Progress

  • Provides project management for the Green Capital Alliance project, as well as the initial Partnership for Prosperity Clean Energy Action Team. Maintains the GCA website and e-news to share project information within the region.
  • Convenes organizations regionally, produces qualitative research and project management.

  • Housed at Los Rios Community College District, the Center of Excellence center provides community colleges with customized data on high growth industries and occupations and their related workforce needs.

  • The Center for Strategic Economic Research analyzes data and creates strategies to foster economic growth and development of the clean energy technology cluster in the Sacramento region.

  • SARTA maintains the Technology Index™, an innovative tool that measures the health of the regional technology economy—essentially a barometer of how technology companies in the Sacramento region are performing.