Taking the Green Initiative

Some municipalities and private companies recognize eco-friendly planning, programs and products can add value and quality of life to residents and customers. In Stockton, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the Central Valley, sustainable initiatives are being developed in the public and private sectors. Here are a few programs and businesses participating in environmentally sustainable initiatives.

Motiv Power Systems, a sustainable technology company based in San Francisco that makes electric chassis, opened a facility in Stockton in February. Motiv partners with Ford, modifying trucks and shuttle and school buses with software and electronics to make them electric vehicles. Matt O’Leary, Motiv chairman and CEO, says the Stockton facility serves as a predelivery inspection and service center. “Stockton was important because of the hundred vehicles that we have deployed, almost half of those are in the Central Valley. We wanted to have a location that was central to our customers,” he says, and Motiv is providing job opportunities in the region. “We found contacts familiar with the technology we work with. We hired locals right out of Stockton,” O’Leary says. The company plans to play a role in assisting with clean transportation as a solution to improve air quality in Stockton.