This week, Greentown Labs will host a delegation of Swiss energy innovators as part of the US-Swiss Energy Innovation Startup Day. The event is part of US-Swiss Energy Innovation Days, a program sponsored by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy and swissnex Boston, the world’s first “science consulate,” and part of a global network of Switzerland’s knowledge outposts.

Greentown Labs represents the first stop on a tour of the Boston area’s top innovation centers for startups in clean energy, including visits to MassChallenge, Cambridge Innovation Center and the Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems.

Boston is a magnet for green innovation. It’s one of many benefits of operating here. On a June 10 visit to Fraunhofer CSE to celebrate its “Living Laboratory” grand opening, Governor Patrick mentioned that Massachusetts is succeeding at sustainability because of its investments in technologies that we can “hardly imagine today but will be ubiquitous tomorrow.”

Cultivating Boston as a hub for international green innovation will strengthen our regional economy. We no longer have to think about energy innovations as being sustainable or profitable, and recognizing that green technologies can be sustainable and profitable. Greentown Labs’ thriving companies are a testament to this exciting shift.

In partnerships like this one with the Swiss government, Boston is pushing the boundaries of traditional thinking, fostering international collaborations and idea sharing in green technologies. The US cannot solve the world’s energy crisis on its own, but the New England region can play a strong role in a more sustainable future by participating in knowledge exchanges like these.

It all adds up to more opportunities for our local business and a better world for everyone.