Portland Green Facts

Greenhouse Gas Reduction, & Recycling

  • In 1993, Portland became the first U.S. city to adopt a Global Warming Action Plan. By 2005, Portland and surrounding Multnomah County had seen a 12.5% per capita reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, with overall emissions growth of less than 1%—an achievement likely unequalled in any other major U.S. city. Per capita emissions in the United States have increased slightly over the same period, with total greenhouse gas emissions up 13 percent.
  • In 2007, the City adopted the goal of reducing the use of fossil fuels in the City by 50% by 2030.
  • In 2000, the Portland City Council created an Office of Sustainable Development (now Bureau of Planning and Sustainability), one of the first city agencies dedicated to sustainability in the nation.
  • Portlanders recycle 63 percent of their waste, one of the highest rates in the nation.
  • Oregon introduced the first bottle bill in the United States in 1971.

 

Transportation

  • Portland has the nation's highest percentage of bicycle commuters, 3.5 percent — about eight times the national average (U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, July 2007). The 2000 U.S. Census found that more than 5,000 Portlanders commute to work by bicycle.
  • Portland boasts 272 miles of developed bikeways: 171 miles of lanes, 71 miles of off-street paths and 30 miles of shared bicycle boulevards.
  • Portland is one of the only two cities – and the largest – to currently hold a Platinum level Bicycle Friendly Community designation (League of American Bicyclists, May 2008)
  • Portland's Airport MAX light rail was the first train-to-plane transportation option on the West Coast.
  • Portland introduced the nation's first modern streetcar system in 2001.
  • All public transportation is free within a 300 square block Downtown.
  • Portland, through a grant with The Climate Trust, has retimed traffic signals at 150 intersections to reduce fuel consumption by 1.1 million gallons of gas per year and decrease CO2 emissions by 9,500 tons (8,618 metric tons) per year.
  • Portland's "smart" parking meters are solar-powered, accept credit cards and stand one per block. A sticker is issued for each vehicle and is transferable to other spaces.
  • Portland is the birthplace of car-sharing in the United States. Today, Portland's Zipcar members enjoy access to a fleet of more than 200 vehicles located throughout the metro area. According to Zipcar, each vehicle in its fleet replaces an estimated 15 privately owned cars.

 

Urban Planning & Sustainable Building Practices

  • By law, all Oregon cities must establish an urban growth boundary, beyond which urban development is prohibited. The UGB significantly reduces urban sprawl, encourages the reuse of neighborhoods (as opposed to abandoning and building new elsewhere), and is one of the primary reasons that Portland’s downtown remains vital.
  • Thanks to unusually short city blocks (200 feet), and a “Clear Vista” law that requires that at least 50% of street-level all new or remodeled walls shall be devoted to interest-creating features, Portland is known for its walkability.
  • Portland boasts 10,000 acres of parkland within its city limits, including the largest forested-area within city limits in the nation (Forest Park.)
  • Portland currently boasts the most LEED-certified buildings per capita in the nation.
  • The first convention center in the nation to receive the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED-EB (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – Existing Buildings) certification, the Oregon Convention Center features a "Rain Garden" that collects storm water from the facility's roof and filters it through an attractive system of rock terraces, pools, and soil, helping to prevent environmental pollutants from reaching the adjacent Willamette River. The Convention Center is also certified "Salmon Safe."
  • The Doubletree Hotel Portland – has earned a Green Seal GS-33 Lodging Sustainability certification. The 476-room Doubletree is the first lodging property in Oregon and the largest hotel west of the Mississippi to receive this green hotel designation, which encompasses a stringent set of environmental standards and practices that hotels must adopt as part of their everyday operations.
  • Ecotrust's Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center is the first gold-level LEED-certified building in Oregon and the first gold-level LEED-certified historic restoration in the nation.
  • The City of Portland green building program offers a variety of technical and financial green building assistance to both commercial and residential building projects. Portland is the first City in the country to create a Green Investment Fund, a five-year, $2.5 million grant-based fund given to commercial, industrial or residential projects demonstrating innovative green technologies and practices.

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