Background
The Clean Industry Initiative aims to help local industrial businesses achieve climate goals and remain competitive. It also supports a just transition as it creates opportunities for workers and communities at the frontlines of the climate crisis as part of the transition to a fossil fuel-free economy. BPS, Portland State University Center for Public Service, and Prosper Portland co-lead this initiative.
The Clean Industry Initiative has four main goals:
- Assist Portland’s industrial sector in addressing greenhouse gas emissions, toxic air pollution, and waste;
- Identify local policy and funding pathways to support clean industry;
- Create opportunities for frontline workers, small businesses, and communities in the clean economy; and
- Foster industrial climate tech innovation in Portland.
Industrial carbon emissions can be hard to reduce. For example, some industrial processes require extremely high temperatures that require significant energy or use raw materials with large carbon footprints. In other cases, the technology may exist, but businesses may not have the knowledge or resources to make those changes.
This initiative is part of the City of Portland’s Climate Emergency Workplan, which describes 47 actions Portland can and must take to eliminate carbon emissions by 2050. These priority actions will make Portlanders more resilient, especially communities of color and those most at-risk and vulnerable to impacts of climate change.
While a transition to clean energy in the industrial sector has challenges, it also offers many benefits. These include cost savings, environmental benefits, access to new products and markets, and improved quality of life for residents and workers.
A Just Transition for Portland Industry
Just transition is a framework for our economy that ensures that workers most impacted by the shift to a clean energy are prioritized and engaged in the process. As our economy adapts to a changing climate, we must create opportunities for workers, communities, and small businesses in the clean industrial sector of the future.
The Clean Industry Initiative focuses on workforce development and environmental justice for communities impacted by industry. More than one in five jobs in Portland are in the industrial sector. Many of those are middle-wage jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree. The sector also employs a much higher proportion of BIPOC workers than any other part of our economy. Industry is an economic engine that is necessary as we transition to a cleaner future.
At the same time, many of Portland’s industrial districts are located close to residential neighborhoods. The Clean Industry Initiative will improve the quality of life for communities that have been harmed in the past by industrial carbon emissions, pollution, and waste.
Ongoing Projects
- BPS will launch a new funding opportunity in late 2025 through the Portland Clean Energy Fund “Collaborating for Climate Action Opportunity.” This program will fund projects at industrial businesses that reduce carbon emissions and create substantial community benefits.
- In June 2023, BPS completed the Clean Industry Study which included a landscape analysis of greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, waste, and employment in Portland’s industrial sector; global best practices for clean industry; policy and finance tools for industry; and a collaborative roadmap for the Clean Industry Initiative.
Staff from BPS, Portland State University Center for Public Service, and Prosper Portland are available to support industrial businesses identify clean industry solutions or apply for project funding.
Contact us
The success of this initiative depends on everyone working together toward shared goals. If you have questions or comments, please contact us.
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