Center for Environmental Research and Technology

The Inland Empire’s logistics sector: 1 billion+ square feet in warehouse space. 600,000 truck trips per day. 231,400+ of the region’s 1.71 million workers. For more than a decade, community organizations have demanded political action to mitigate the labor and environmental concerns raised by the industry’s rapid expansion. These demands have been answered in recent years with the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s Indirect Source Rule and the California Air Resources Board’s Advanced Clean Trucks and Advanced Clean Fleets rulemakings, which push logistics companies to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

All heavy-duty trucks in California will need to be zero-emissions by 2045. How does the path forward look for the Inland Empire? What do fleet operators need to do to electrify? What adjustments will local jurisdictions and utilities need to make to accommodate this infrastructural shift? Whose jobs will be affected? What types of work will expand or be created, and how can we ensure that they lead to family-sustaining careers? How will land use change? How can the electrification of logistics fit into a larger vision for a more economically democratic Inland Empire?

The CREATE-IE workshop, a follow-up to the December 2022 event Plug In IE, will offer a structured space for conversation on these pressing questions.