City Climate Innovation Challenge
Landmark program to help cities pilot and scale innovation.
Innovative businesses and cleantech startups can leverage the private-sector skills and investment that cities need.
To unlock the full potential of urban innovation we need closer coordination between all stakeholders.
The City Climate Innovation Challenge is a program to help cities across the country incorporate innovation to achieve climate goals related to specific priority topics.
We work with selected cities to identify startup and corporate solutions to be piloted in innovation “sandboxes” along with access to pilot funding for select startup solutions, technical support, data analysis, peer-to-peer learnings, and convenings with key private sector companies.
Our First Challenge - City Climate Innovation Challenge for Zero Emissions Delivery (ZED Challenge)
The explosion of e-commerce and related goods movement has led to an increase in air pollution, urban traffic congestion, and greenhouse gas emissions in cities across the United States. While major delivery fleets have announced pledges to deploy zero emission vehicles—and many startup and corporate innovations have entered the market—the progress to move toward zero emissions has been slow.
The ZED City Challenge is spurring the move to zero emissions delivery by seeking and deploying technology and policy innovations among a national multi-city cohort that is committed to advancing transformative climate solutions.
The Cohort
In January 2024 we announced the cities joining our anchor partners of Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Santa Monica. They are Louisville, KY; Miami-Dade County, FL; New York City, NY; Oakland, CA; Portland, OR; and Washington D.C. LACI will help these cities to develop solutions accelerating the move to zero emissions delivery, reducing emissions from predominantly dirty, diesel trucks moving goods from first mile to last mile–which predominantly impact low income, disadvantaged communities.
The inaugural cohort is supported by funding from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, MUFG Bank, State of California, U.S. Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, and Wells Fargo.
combined metropolitan population of the nine participating cities and counties
Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Santa Monica
Louisville, KY; Miami-Dade County, FL; New York City, NY; Oakland, CA; Portland, OR; and Washington D.C.
LACI, C40, and Climate Mayors
