PARC & Sustainable Silicon Valley
PARC joins EPA-award winning organization and pledges to reduce CO2 emissions

About Sustainable Silicon Valley

Sustainable Silicon Valley (SSV) is a collaboration of businesses, governments, and NGOs that are identifying and addressing environmental and resource pressures in the Valley including: energy use from non-renewable sources; fresh water use; urban sprawl; habitat development and fragmentation; non-renewable raw materials use; and toxic chemical discharge into the air.

One of SSV's first initiatives is to engage prominent Valley organizations to work towards a goal of reducing regional carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions 20% below 1990 levels through increased energy efficiency, fuel efficiency, and renewable energy sources. By reducing greenhouse gas emissions, this initiative crosses all socioeconomic boundaries and benefits local, regional, and global communities.

How PARC is solving cleantech problems and pioneering sustainable practices

PARC recently launched a comprehensive cleantech research program to develop low-cost, multi-industry solutions for renewable energy, clean water, and efficient energy utilization. One of the first results is a novel, low-cost solar concentrator technology (jointly developed with SolFocus, Inc.) that will cut consumers’ solar electricity costs by half.

"The potential for applying [PARC's] rich history of innovation to clean technology is very exciting for those of us who have watched, and helped, this field grow..."  --Joel Makower, Founder, Greenbiz.com; Co-founder, Clean Edge, Inc.

PARC has also pioneered sustainable practices in the workplace for over 35 years – from its unique building design that minimizes environmental impact by blending into the landscape, to its award-winning Alternative Transportation Program that provides financial incentives to reduce the number of single occupancy vehicles commuting to work. Recently, PARC added various energy-efficient measures and equipment (including a modulating chiller, new boiler, heat exchanger, variable speed drives, and all LED exit signs) that significantly reduced energy consumption.

People at PARC are passionate about engaging in sustainable practices and applying technology towards positive environmental and social change. PARC supports numerous educational programs such as a public sustainability speaker series and an organization-wide Green Team, many of which evolved as grassroots efforts by individual employees. PARC not only has an aggressive reduce-reuse-recycle program (employees have promoted paper recycling for over three decades), but employees also gathered and donated computers to third-world countries.