Recent achievements
Oregon Environmental Council's recent achievements
12 accomplishments in 2012
Increased market demand for safer, less toxic products by securing a Green Chemistry Executive Order signed by the Governor that will use the state’s market power to purchase less toxic products and develop a toxics reduction plan to proactively eliminate toxic pollution.
- Initiated healthy purchasing policies adopted by Multnomah County and the City of Portland requiring the disclosure of chemicals in certain products and directing public funds towards less toxic options.
- As state legislators balanced the budget, protected critical environmental programs from unwarranted cuts that would have undermined Oregon’s air, water and natural resource protections.
- Led a successful advocacy effort to secure Oregon Environmental Quality Commission’s adoption of the Clean Fuels Program that promotes low carbon fuels, a homegrown clean economy and cleaner air.
- Completed the three-year Climate Friendly Nurseries project that resulted in participating nurseries reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by 20%, exemplifying how agriculture can play a leading role in climate protection while saving money.
- Initiated a first-ever dialogue between state agencies, farmers, ranchers and environmentalists on how the state’s agricultural water quality program can be more effective and improve water quality through enhanced programs and protections.
- Together with our counterparts in neighboring states, actively worked with the leaders of the west coast—Oregon, California, Washington and British Columbia—to commit to jointly lead on climate and energy and put a price on carbon. Progress made in 2012 included a joint clean energy economy action plan and a joint statement supporting carbon pricing.
- Co-chaired the Governor’s 10-Year Energy Action Plan and worked to include important carbon-reduction measures and putting a price on carbon in the recommendations.
- Released Making Water Work, a report outlining ways to advance water efficiency in agriculture; more than half of OEC’s the recommendations were included in Oregon’s first-ever Integrated Water Resources Strategy in 2012.
- Launched a partnership with Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center to integrate environmental health into wellness services for low-income communities.
- Brought Oregonians together in conferences and forums to explore important environmental topics, from farmers and ranchers discussing reducing the use of pesticides, to health professionals sharing how toxic chemicals impact human health, to business leaders exploring the next phase of sustainability, to Oregonians becoming more aware about how their consumption patterns have social and environmental ripple effects across the world.
- Awarded the top spot in the “Top Green Companies to Work For” and “Best Nonprofits to Work For” Oregon Business lists; 2012 was the first year OEC took the top rating in both categories.
