Opportunity Green Competition Top Green Building Start-up Finalists

The Opportunity Green Sustainable Business Conference, which brings together leading companies and visionaries in business, technology, and design to showcase the hottest opportunities for driving profitability through sustainability, announced today the final nominees for the OG25 Innovative green start-ups -- twenty-five sustainable start-ups chosen for their stand-out approaches to creating real change through business.

“The inspiration for the contest came from the hundreds of companies requesting to speak at the 2009 conference, with the majority coming from the green sector looking to introduce themselves to the wider business community,” said Karen Solomon, Co-Founder and CEO of Opportunity Green. “You'd be amazed how many fascinating and innovative ideas there are out there, under the radar, ready to be the next big thing. The OG25 is a way to honor the top echelon of those companies.”

Several hundred companies were nominated through both Opportunity Green’s website and recommendations by Opportunity Green staff and expert consultants. Nominations came from a variety of sectors, including waste management, product design, social innovation, transportation and mobility, water conservation, food systems, and resources conservation.

Those designated as OG25 finalists will be given sponsored admission to Opportunity Green 2009, November 7-8 at UCLA in Los Angeles. During the conference, the top five finalists will be showcased on stage live for the chance to compete for the distinction of “Opportunity Green's Top Start-up of 2009.”

The White House agrees that innovation is essential to fueling new growth our economy demands. “We need some inventiveness,” President Obama said to about 60 researchers and business executives from clean energy industries in March. “Your country needs you to create new jobs and lead new industries.”

Opportunity Green selected the final 25 companies based on their combination of innovative thinking and simplicity of execution. One example is Balqon Corporation, which introduced a zero emissions heavy-duty electric truck designed for short haul deliveries. RecycleMatch, another OG25 finalist, is converting waste streams from one company into useful materials for another company. The green building companies in the list of nominees include:

Bottlestone - a beautiful, new green surface material made of 80% post-consumer recycled glass.
Double Helix Tracking - affordable, DNA-based solutions to verify the origin of timber and wood products.
Ecovative Design - Greensulate, by Ecovative Design, is the world's first sustainable rigid board insulation.
EnergyHub - smart, simple, and cost-effective energy management tools
Greensulate - specializes in green roofs, green walls and sustainable building.
iCeL Systems - An iCeL is an intelligent and interactive energy storage device. It uses an integrated "chip set" that is able to store, manage, and distribute energy according to the individual needs of the user.
Novomer - Novomer's first product NB-180 has been developed specifically for high performance industrial and commercial applications requiring a binder that decomposes rapidly, cleanly and is environmentally friendly.
Powerzoa - Powerzoa cube is a smart plug that fits between your appliances and wall outlet, measures your energy usage and sends data to personalized website that you can use for automation.
Project Frog - Employing innovative clean technology across the construction spectrum, Project FROG aims to transform the building industry by creating new standards for healthy buildings that significantly reduce energy consumption and materials waste.
RecycleMatch - marketplace that provides a solution to reduce costs and environmental impact by converting waste streams from one company into useful materials for another company.
Roofray - allows you to calculate your roof's solar potential.
SRS Energy - develops and manufactures premium solar roofing tiles designed to seamlessly integrate with traditional roofing products.
Wattbot - Company's goal with Wattbot is to create the most objective, comprehensive, and trusted clean energy advisor available, empowering everyone with the tools they need to take action and declare their energy independence.
WiTricity - developing wireless electricity technology that will operate safely and efficiently over distances ranging from centimeters to several meters—and will deliver power ranging from milliwatts to kilowatts.

To sponsor Opportunity Green or get additional information about OG25, contact Karen Solomon at 310-709-6952 or at [email protected]. Follow the latest news and updates related to Opportunity Green on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/opportunitygreen and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/oppgreen.

About Opportunity Green

The Opportunity Green conference brings together leading companies and visionaries in technology, design, media, and more, to showcase the hottest opportunities for driving profitability through sustainability. The conference allows participants exposure to, and experience with, an interdisciplinary cross-section of ideas at the forefront of sustainable business practices through a variety of formats, including creative panels, experiential workshops and out-of-conference interactivity. Approximately 500 companies participating in Opportunity Green – ranging from Fortune 500 powerhouses to cutting-edge start-ups – have all been carefully chosen via a rigorous vetting process and have demonstrated a commitment to showcasing the latest sustainable solutions and emerging green business practices as well as a dedication to ongoing collaboration with like-minded business leaders.