About us

The City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability's Green Building Program is Portland’s gateway to green building innovation, offering resources specific to YOUR green building project. Under the direction of the Mayor, Sam Adams, the Green Building Program is accelerating the adoption of cost effective green building practices as the standard of development in Portland.

Green Building program history

In 1994, a multi-disciplinary volunteer citizen group called the "Sustainable Portland Commission" was created to inform city council decisions concerning sustainable development. Soon thereafter, the citizen group commissioned a planning process exploring the potential for a green building technical assistance program and produced two principal documents: the Green Building Options study and the Green Building Initiative. The Green Building Options Study explores strategies to standardize green building and the Green Building Initiative is a "two-year action plan" to expand market demand and make green building practices easier to implement in Portland.

In 2000, Commissioner Dan Saltzman took the Action Plan from theory to practice by rewriting the Initiative as the Green Building Policy and creating the Green Building Division, in the City’s Office of Sustainable Development (OSD). Saltzman also developed the Green Investment Fund (GIF) to support the Green Building division’s staff and program. In addition, to keep with the local tradition of citizen advisory, Saltzman gathered a citizen GIF Design Committee to advise OSD staff on how to structure an incentive program that promotes green building in the commercial and residential sectors of the City. The result of these efforts was the creation of the City of Portland’s Green Building Program. 

The Green Building Program represents a partnership of six development-related City bureaus and other local organizations. Though its programs and services, the Green Building Program focuses on organization and policy development, demonstration projects, technical assistance, educational outreach and access to financial incentives. For residents of the Portland Metro Area, the Green Building Program acts as a centralized resource for people interested in incorporating green building practices in residential and commercial development.

How the Green Building Program is funded

• Residential and commercial solid waste fees
• Grants
• Inter-governmental agreements (IGAs)
• Sponsorships and ticket sales (annual BIG! Homes Tour and ReTHINK Education Series)

In January 2009, Sam Adams merged the Office of Sustainable Development with the Bureau of Planning to form the new Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS). BPS now resides in the Mayor's portfolio of bureaus.