Connect with other businesses
Portland has a robust community of businesses that are constantly striving to be more sustainable. Get involved with local groups to meet sustainability-minded peers, share successes, troubleshoot challenges, and collaborate.
B Local PDX is a Portland group created by and for Portland B Corp certified businesses, but many of their events are open to all businesses. They host introductory sessions to B Corp certification, organize learning events, and foster collaboration between Portland B Corps.
While not local, GreenBiz can be a good source for webinars, research, and news.
Expert advice, resources, and financial incentives
Energy
Energy Trust of Oregon offers advice and cash incentives to help make energy-efficient improvements more affordable and lower your upfront costs: from light bulbs, to equipment, to major renovations.
PGE, Pacific Power, and NW Natural all offer renewable energy programs.
Water
Portland Water Bureau offers small businesses customized technical assistance to reduce water use. Staff can provide answers to specific questions, create a water-use history report, identify potential savings and provide an on-site evaluation of water using devices based on your specific needs. They also offer free water-efficiency devices and rebates on some water-efficient toilets, ice-machines, and irrigation devices.
Portland Bureau of Environmental Services runs the Green Street Steward program, where businesses can adopt a nearby bioswale to keep it clean and working well.
Transportation
Portland Bureau of Transportation offers freebike parking “staples” or bike parking corals; free bike maps and other employee resources; plus expert advice on encouraging staff to bike, walk, carpool, or take transit.
Get There Oregon helps businesses connect employees with commute options, including carpool and vanpool, plus track emissions reductions, and more.
Forth helps businesses with electric vehicles, from installing charging stations to purchasing EV fleet vehicles, and more.
Recycling & Waste
We can help you with garbage, recycling, compost, and waste reduction! Contact us for assistance.
Metro is a great resource for finding how and where to recycle hard-to-recycle items, plus where to donate items you no longer need: Look up items with Metro's Find a Recycler tool, call them at 503-234-3000, or submit a question online.
Community
Set up a workplace giving program through EarthShare Oregon, which allows employees to easily contribute to local, environmentally-focused nonprofits.
Organize employee volunteer events through Solve or HandsOn Greater Portland.
Join Portland Means Progress to improve your business’s social impact through creating culture change in your organization by providing Diversity, Equity & Inclusion training for your staff and leadership; creating work experiences for underrepresented youth and young professionals of color; and purchasing goods and services from Portland businesses owned by people of color.
The content on this page is not a comprehensive list of all available resources. This page was last updated in 2021. Please let us know if you discover outdated information or broken website links.