Greenovate Boston 2014 Climate Action Plan launch celebration with special guest Guster announced

On January 15, Mayor Walsh will release Greenovate Boston 2014 Climate Action Plan Update at Artists for Humanity’s EpiCenter. The event will include a performance by the band, Guster. In honor of the band’s Boston roots, and their commitment to the environment and public service, Mayor Walsh will declare January 15 Guster Day in Boston.

“We’ve been working hand-in-hand with the community to create the Greenovate Boston Climate Action Plan,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “With this plan, Boston will lay out ambitious climate goals to make this city a healthier, more livable and sustainable city.”

The release of the 2014 Climate Action Plan will culminate a year-long intensive community engagement process that included a Steering Committee of 31 representatives from the neighborhoods, private sector, academia, and City officials. The City also received thousands of comments via its online engagement platform, Engage.GreenovateBoston.org, and at the first Greenovate Boston Community Summit in May, where over 500 people participated. The draft Plan was available for public comment for over three weeks in November and the City received over 50 written comments.

At the event, the Mayor will also welcome incoming Chief of Environment, Energy and Open Space, Austin Blackmon. Mr. Blackmon will be the Master of Ceremonies of the event. He takes office on January 19.

“I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing preliminary drafts of the 2014 Climate Action Plan and it is a bold and impressive document,” said Austin Blackmon. “It will be an honor to work with all those who contributed to its creation and I look forward to getting started on implementation.”

The Mayor will also unveil new features of the Plan, including special online interactive tools. He will be joined by members of the Climate Action Plan Steering Committee for a brief speaking engagement, followed by Guster’s performance. Guster has a longstanding commitment to the environment, and has been minimizing the environmental impact of their tours for more than a decade, including using alternative fuel for tour buses and trucks, and calculating and offsetting the band’s carbon footprint from tour buses, trucks, and venue energy use. In 2004, guitarist, Adam Gardner and his wife, Lauren Sullivan, started REVERB--a non-profit organization dedicated to greening musicians’ tours and engaging fans to take action to protect the planet. Leading up to the event, Guster will be busking at various undisclosed locations around Boston.

"We are so honored to have an official Guster Day in the city our band was born from!  As a band that cares about the environment and makes great efforts to minimize our touring footprint, we are excited to learn more about Mayor Walsh’s Greenovate Boston Climate Action Plan for this city we care so deeply about."

The event will be free and open to the public, however space is limited and registration is required. Tickets available online athttp://bit.ly/CAPLaunch. Doors open at 5:30 and the program starts at 6:30. All guests are encouraged to take public transportation (Red Line to Broadway), as parking is limited. The event will be a zero-waste event, with compostables and recyclables collected by the Department of Public Works.

About Guster: Since forming at Tufts University in 1992, Guster has become one of the leading indie/alternative bands, releasing seven critically acclaimed albums in 20 years, starting with Parachute in 1995. Evermotion (to be released on their own Ocho Mule label through Nettwerk Records) is the follow-up to 2010’s Easy Wonderful, which earned the band its highest-ever chart debut on the Billboard 200 at #22, while reaching #2 on both the SoundScan Alternative and iTunes charts.

About REVERB: REVERB is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2004 by environmentalist Lauren Sullivan and her musician husband, Adam Gardner of Guster. REVERB creates and executes comprehensive, custom programs to green the tour itself while engaging concertgoers to take action for the environment. Adam and REVERB have helped transform the touring practices of over 150 major tours including Guster, Dave Matthews Band, Maroon 5, Jack Johnson, Sheryl Crow, Jason Mraz and others.

About Artists for Humanities: Since 1991, Artists For Humanity has empowered and employed Boston teens in an intensive program of arts, creativity and enterprise. Teen artists work within the Artists For Humanity EpiCenter, Boston's first LEED Platinum building, a solar powered arts facility named in 2007 one of the 'Top 10 Green Buildings in the Nation' by the American Institute of Architects. Currently, Artists For Humanity is planning an on-site expansion to create an Energy Positive (E+) facility to include a public makers studio, new gallery & community space, and workspaces to employ additional Boston teens in intensive youth arts entrepreneurship.