The Listening Session was organized by the Clean Tech Trade Alliance (CTTA), a locally-based non-profit organization whose purpose is to research real-world solutions and validate sustainable companies and connect them to projects and businesses in need of sustainable solutions. The event was facilitated by Dr. Eric Rasmussen, a former Navy doctor with over 30 years of experience and leadership in disaster response and management. Dr. Rasmussen has numerous relevant roles; he sits on the NAS’s “Grand Challenges” committee, is currently Managing Director of Infinitum Humanitarian Systems, and is director of the newly-founded FEMA Innovation Team. His presentation drove home the urgency of the work that CTTA does in the context of human security and community resilience in the face of climate change and ecological instability.
An unqualified success, the session was attended by numerous public and private organizations, including Seattle City Light, Kitsap Transit, Naval Base Kitsap, City of Bremerton, City of Lacey, and Washington State Ferries; in the private sector, companies looking to identify a sustainable path included Miller Sheet Metal, Monarch Green, Iveda, and Olympic Resource Management. Numerous sustainability challenges were identified, spanning industries, processes, materials and technology. This is the raw data that drives CTTA’s operations, which is to take the challenges identified by our community and industry leaders, and to research and vet companies that live up to their claims and can deliver a better product or service reliably. CTTA will be using this format to assist municipalities, including those affected by Hurricane Sandy, to meet their challenges and assist in building back better.
