Green Development

Green Development Cluster 
Sponsoring Organization: OECDD
Geography: Portland Metro Area
Date: September 2007
Contact: Tom Osdoba  (503) 823-2317        

Background

The Green Development Cluster has been meeting since January of 2007. Convened by the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department, the cluster quickly organized itself and identified several key initiatives among a list of short and long-term goals that the group determined would accelerate green development in Oregon and strengthen Oregon’s competitiveness in the global economy.

Geographic Location 
Primarily Portland Metro with connections to Salem and Hood River

Oregon Advantages/Industry Drivers  

• Political leadership (Governor Tom McCall,  state & political leaders at all levels)

• Business Energy Tax Credit (BETC)  

• Collaborative Culture—connections between industry, government & community organizations and connections with other industries (ex. Agriculture, forestry)  

• Lower costs for professional services (designers, building, architects, etc.), electricity, and housing relative to other competitor regions (i.e., Bay Area)  

• Intellectual Capital—workforce with sustainability skills, understanding, & attitudes

• Quality of Life/ Livability- transportation and land use planning

• Natural Resources: water, wind, waves, timber

Cluster Challenges

• Education and decreasing intellectual capital. Getting harder to find skills needed as the industry evolves quickly, people with talent leave, and the population ages.

• Quality of life and livability in jeopardy: A) Measure 37 creates problems; Measure 49 is not the ultimate solution. Need to continue to address land use planning and affordability issues. B) Must connect land use and transportation, and C) develop a vision of affordable walkable communities statewide (Good Models: Sweden, Curitiba, Brazil, Berkeley, Santa Monica)

• Divides/ voids between A) the natural resource community and the sustainability community and B) Urban/rural regions

Cluster Action Initiatives

Current High Priority Initiatives

Create an ecosystems services marketplace (will help rural communities, agriculture and forestry industry, environment) and Encourage more developers to be ecosystems-neutral

Fast track permitting for green building

Develop climate friendly mortgage, appraisal, and insurance products

Commercial forum—Create a “commercial support forum”— an entity (physical & on-line) that will entertain inquiries regarding opportunities to fill market demands/create new businesses

Short-Term Initiatives

Adopt a state policy platform, e.g., 2030 Challenge (all new buildings shall be carbon-neutral by 2030; all new buildings, developments and major renovations designed to meet a fossil fuel, GHG-emitting, energy consumption performance standard of 50% of the regional (or country) average for that building type)

Buy Local Campaign- Keep more capital investment within the state (See Import Substitution study on green building products)

Create mandatory re-commissioning incentives & retrofit programs to upgrade homes & commercial buildings

Create a home Energy Performance Certificate – a “currency” valuation recognized in sales transactions

Long-Term Initiatives

Integrate sustainability into our education system by making it a core part of K-20 educational curriculum, creating integrated degree programs and professional certifications for building trades, etc.

Increase the cost of power to encourage energy efficiency in residential and commercial buildings. Include incentive programs to help less affluent citizens

Promote the Oregon Small-Scale Energy Loan Program (SELP) and Energy Trust loans