LOS ANGELES (July 8, 2026) — USGBC California (USGBC-CA) named the 15 companies selected for Cohort 8 of the Net Zero Accelerator® (NZA), its growth-stage commercialization program for innovative technology in the built environment. The program officially kicked off June 24th and runs through early December 2026. These companies are ready to put practical, cost-effective solutions to work in real pilots with building owners and operators across California and beyond.
An independent committee selected Cohort 8 from a field of dozens of applications spanning eight countries. No two companies are direct competitors, and together they represent eight U.S. states as well as Canada, Germany, and the UK.
The NZA was founded in 2019 on a simple observation. Policy was moving faster than the technology could reach the field. Building owners and facilities managers kept reporting they could not get the solutions they needed, could not get them at cost, or did not know the solutions existed. But they did exist. They just were not visible and connected to the people who needed them. Across seven cohorts since, more than 120 companies have come through the NZA. They have piloted in office towers, on shorelines, inside affordable housing, and across utility territories.
“California’s climate targets are no longer abstract goals, and they are increasingly operational realities,” said Ben Stapleton, Chief Executive Officer of USGBC California. “Our goal with this program is to connect these high-impact innovators with the building owners, managers, developers, designers, and builders who are ready to prove that net-zero is not just a sustainability target, but a scalable, standard industry reality.”
Cohort 8 spans the systems that determine how a building performs, from the power coming in, to the envelope holding conditioned air. Members by solution area:
- Solar & PV. Rooftop and distributed solar remains the front line of on-site generation. Rocking Solar (Monroe, OH); Stellaris (Nashua, NH).
- Energy Storage. Storage turns intermittent generation into firm, dispatchable power and cuts peak demand charges. Nostromo Energy (Irvine, CA).
- Electrical Distribution. How power moves through a building sets the ceiling on safety, efficiency, and electrification. Cence Power (Markham, ON); Panduit (Tinley Park, IL).
- Demand Response & Power Quality. Cleaner, better-managed power lowers bills and protects sensitive equipment. Captivate Energy (Wake Forest, NC).
- Envelope Diagnostics. You can’t fix what you can’t see, and envelope performance is where energy quietly leaks. QEA Tech (Markham, ON).
- HVAC Optimization. Heating, ventilation, and cooling systems are the largest drivers of energy use in most commercial buildings. Endo Enterprises (Warrington, UK); Transaera (Somerville, MA); Vybe Energy (Falls Church, VA).
- Cooling & Dehumidification. Cooling demand is climbing, and humidity control is half the battle. Green Matters Technologies (Langley, BC).
- Mobility & EV Charging. Charging is the bottleneck for building electrification, and fixed stations are slow and costly to install. IonDynamics (Novi, MI).
- Roofing. The roof is a building’s first defense against heat gain and a prime opportunity for energy, resilience, and longevity upgrades. Shield Roofing (Canoga Park, CA US offices).
- Carbon & Materials. Embodied carbon is now a compliance question, not just a design one. Carbon Upcycling Technologies (Calgary, AB).
- Lighting & Occupant Health. Light shapes both energy use and the health of the people inside. BIOS Lighting (Carlsbad, CA).
The Accelerator exists to speed adoption of vital solutions in the built environment. It bridges the gap between building policy and technology that is ready for commercial real estate and affordable housing. California’s 2024 Building Standards Code now requires embodied carbon reductions on large schools and commercial buildings. SB 253 and SB 261 require large companies doing business in California to begin reporting emissions and climate-related financial risk in 2026, thresholds that reach well beyond the state. As evidenced through USGBC California’s Building Performance Hub, more than 30 California jurisdictions have already adopted local reach codes under the current code cycle, per the state’s Statewide Reach Codes Program. The window to pilot, validate, and scale these solutions has never been stronger.
The six-month program runs in four phases:
- Phase 1 builds program foundation and network introductions, and each company aligns on a Success Plan with a matched senior advisor.
- Phase 2 delivers the core curriculum: California market, brand and story, sales and business development, sustainability ROI, and pilot readiness.
- Phase 3 opens market access with direct introduction and promotion throughout the USGBC California community.
- Phase 4 covers visibility and graduation. Each company builds a Pilot Flight Manual, a two-page partner-ready plan it carries into customer conversations and investor and other partner meetings.
The ultimate goal is simple: help companies secure their first California pilots, generate credible performance data, and accelerate broader market adoption. The most recent cohort shows what that process produces. The NZA’s Cohort 7 Pilot Flight Manual (2025-26) is a comprehensive but easily navigated guide to the 14 companies that completed last year’s program, each with a two-page profile and a pilot opportunity ready to scope today with a building owner, operator, or utility partner.
“A pilot here isn’t about finding out whether something works,” said Colin Mangham, Chief Experience Officer of USGBC California, who has led the Net Zero Accelerator since 2020. “These technologies already work. The pilot proves success can be replicated. You put a solution in one building with a real partner, you prove it out, and that’s what gets it into the next ten. Founders like to build for market disruption. But the people buying their solutions want a predictable outcome they can trust. And the best of these companies don’t just hit net zero, which is really just breakeven. They create more than they consume.”
The program draws on a network of more than 70 green building leaders who serve as advisors, pilot hosts, and technical experts. It culminates in a Demo Day and Green Innovation Showcase before owners, property managers, agencies, utilities, investors, and media.
“Institutional buyers respond to evidence, not enthusiasm,” said Kevin Powell, Senior Advisor for Building Innovation at USGBC California, who previously led the federal Green Proving Ground program at the U.S. General Services Administration. “Great technology exists, and it’s ready. The challenge is moving it from a successful pilot into the messy reality of the market, where it can transform buildings at scale. That’s what this program does.”
Returning and new partners span real estate, architecture, engineering, public utilities, finance, and academia. They include 50L Home Coalition, Environmental Defense Fund, GAIA, Infrastructure Masons, JLL Spark, LAEDC, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, SoCalGas, Southern California Edison, Trellis, and the Urban Land Institute. (Full partner list on website.)
For more information on the Net Zero Accelerator, including how to become a pilot location, advisor, or supporter, visit netzeroaccelerator.org or contact Julie Du Brow, Senior Director, Communications & Partnerships, at julie@usgbc-ca.org. For information on USGBC California, visit usgbc-ca.org.
###
About USGBC California
USGBC California is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and member-based organization working to make California’s built environment more sustainable, resilient, and equitable. An independent chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, it brings together green building communities across the state, from the Redwood Empire to San Diego. The organization helps leaders act on climate change, public health, and environmental justice. It builds a diverse talent pipeline through training, mentorship, and direct-to-community programs. It connects people across disciplines to drive systemic change, and it advocates for policy that meets the most urgent environmental and social challenges of our time. (usgbc-ca.org)
About the Net Zero Accelerator
The Net Zero Accelerator is USGBC California’s growth-stage program for climate technology in the built environment. Since 2019, more than 120 companies across seven cohorts have come through the program, moving from pilot-ready to market-ready through real, trackable deployments with building owners, operators, utilities, and public partners across California. The program runs six months in four phases and draws on a network of more than 70 green building leaders. Companies build a Pilot Flight Manual, pilot their solutions in the field, and graduate at the annual Green Gala. (netzeroaccelerator.org
