The U.S. Green Building Council California (USGBC-CA) is proud to announce the 2024 cohort of the world’s first Net Zero Accelerator® (NZA). The NZA helps position selected pilot-ready, building-focused technologies for success by accelerating their market entry throughout California and beyond through collaboration with marquee partners and advisors who provide guidance, connections, and participation in pilots. Since the accelerator’s inception, over 100 companies from around the globe have participated, with more than 60 pilot opportunities initiated.
 
Net Zero focus areas and the selected 2024 cohort members aligned with them include:

• Affordable Housing: ReMo Homes
• Advanced Materials: Hemp Building Company
• Building Decarbonization: Cumulus Carbon
• Clean Construction: Washbox
• Data Analytics & Visualization: Prezerv
• Energy Efficiency: Shift Thermal
• Energy Resources: Overdrive
• Nature-Based Solutions: Ecoclosure, Grow Oyster Reefs
• Rebates & Incentives: Rock Rabbit
• Water Conservation: LeakSense
• Wildfire Defense: Delphire

Notably most of the companies are headquartered throughout California and other states including CA, CO, NC, VA, and TN, as well as Canada. All have prioritized California, especially following the organization’s recent unification across California, for market validation and scaled adoption, understanding the opportunities here due to the state’s significant and time-sensitive goals toward a net zero future.
 
To learn more about the new cohort through their fast pitches as well as participate in advisor matchmaking, join the annual NZA Meet & Greet on August 29, 2024.
 
“With our expansion across California and the diversity of these companies, the potential for scaled impact and the focus on implementation with the group of companies in the program this year is simply phenomenal. From addressing affordable housing and electrification to mitigating wildfire risk and nature based solutions solving critical challenges across the region, these companies are delivering solutions today to help us achieve a more net positive future,” states Ben Stapleton, USGBC California Executive Director.
 
 As a “net zero” targeted accelerator focused on the built environment and the infrastructure that serves it, the accelerator’s primary goal is to remove the biggest barriers to viable green building technologies reaching the market. The selected property-focused technologies (aka proptech) can come from anywhere in the world, with the qualification of being pilot ready and/or commercially available solutions that help make zero carbon, energy, water, and waste buildings a reality for the region today.
 
 During the six-month program, cohort companies have multiple opportunities to: connect with potential investors, advisors and pilot hosts; participate in workshops focused on best business practices; and receive individualized guidance from Stapleton and Director Colin Mangham—who combined have guided the success of more than 150 startups generating $300M+ in venture funding—as well as other thought leaders in the USGBC California community.
   
The one-on-one guidance, introductions, Meet & Greet, and Demo Day (which closes out the cohort) events have resulted in pilot project placements with key players in the Southern California region. Successful pilot implementations with past cohort members include Hempitecture, RWI Synthetics, and KitSwitch:
 
Hempitecture partnered with Cal Poly Pomona and Orange County Sustainability Decathlon to demonstrate HempWool® Insulation’s effective capacity as a nontoxic material that is easy to handle and extremely energy efficient. RWI Synthetics partnered with Urban Land Institute (ULI-LA) and U.S. Green Building Council-Los Angeles to generate advanced simulation and data visualizations that provide insights about the Boyle Heights community that will help stakeholders make effective decisions. KitSwitch partnered with SAN MAR Properties and Rocky Mountain Institute to enable low income senior housing residents to have energy-efficient and fully electric kitchens.
 
The complete case studies for these and several others are available on the accelerator’s website, as is the Flight Manual, which spotlights case studies along with current pilot opportunity specifications developed for and with the previous NZA 2023 cohort companies.
 
 "I’ve guided the success of hundreds of entrepreneurs, and I can say, yet again, that the caliber and commitment of the people and companies this program engages is truly top shelf,” states Mangham. “Plus, the focus on real world pilots getting vital solutions right to market makes our work all the more fulfilling. I’m excited to guide and learn from this next group of green-minded change makers.”
 
 Partners to the NZA include (alpha): The 50L Home Coalition, Blue Bear Capital, BuroHappold Engineering, Business Finland, CSUDH, CSUN, CIM Group, City of Los Angeles, College of the Canyons, Community Corporation of Santa Monica, Consulate General of Canada, DBL Partners, Environmental Defense Fund, Fairstead, Fifth Wall Ventures, Frederick Fisher and Partners, Gensler, GreenBiz, GreenNRG Institute, Hathaway Dinwiddie, HDR, Hudson Pacific Properties, Integral Group, IQHQ, JLL Spark, Kilroy Realty Corporation, LivCor, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, LA Metro, Lennar, Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, Metropolitan Water District, Momentum, NRDC, NREL, Rexford Industrial, Rising Realty, Skanska, Southern California Edison, Southern California Gas Company, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Urban Land Institute, UCLA, USC, VCA Green, Verdical Group, and more presently onboarding for the 2024 cohort.
 
For more information on the Net Zero Accelerator (the companies, and being a pilot location, advisor or supporter), visit https://www.netzeroaccelerator.org/ or contact Colin Mangham at colin@usgbc-ca.org. For information on USGBC-CA, please visit USGBC-CA.org or contact Ben Stapleton at ben@usgbc-ca.org.