Gerding Edlen Development
Gerding Edlen Development is a progressive commercial real estate development services firm committed to socially and environmentally responsible development. Since its formation in 1994, Gerding Edlen is widely known for its work in and around the city of Portland with such re-developments as The Brewery Blocks and South Waterfront, and new facilities such as the OHSU Center for Health and Healing. With 32 buildings targeting various LEED ratings, Gerding Edlen has helped make the West Coast the leader in LEED registrations—50% higher than the national average.

The impacts of Gerding Edlen's work are far-reaching with a development portfolio totaling $3.8 billion including $800 million under construction or in early development in Oregon. Buildings represent a huge portion of overall energy, water and material resource consumption in the world. As such, the company's designs are typically 30 percent more energy efficient than standard buildings, with 30–50 percent water savings, and maintain over 90 percent recycling rates of project demolition and construction waste.

Beyond its organization, Gerding Edlen has actively participated in professional and philanthropic activities. As a co-founder and board member of the nonprofit Construction and Workforce Solutions, Inc., the company has worked to set goals for minority and women participation on private and public projects. It has also engaged in affordable housing projects targeting LEED certification to demonstrate that sustainable design and affordability can go hand in hand.

Lastly, Gerding Edlen supports sustainable choices for its employees by offering a monthly allowance to offset most of the cost associated with a hybrid, biodiesel or flex-fuel vehicle that achieves greater than 40 mgp in the city. If that's not enough, they're also offered a one-time $250 allowance to purchase a bike or monthly tri-met pass.


Sustainable Harvest Coffee Importers
Sustainable Harvest Coffee Importers is based in Portland and one of the leading providers of organic and fair trade coffee to the North American specialty market. Each year, Sustainable Harvest purchases more than 10 million pounds of shade-grown, organic and fair trade coffee from small holder farming cooperatives in 16 countries in Central America, South America and Africa.

The firm has staff in five countries in farmer training offices that help producers from cooperatives sustain direct relationships with the North American coffee market buyers.

Since 1997, its award-winning "Relationship Coffee" model has served over 100,000 farmer families in hundreds of African and Latin American communities, and its framework supports a triple bottom line structure focused on the environmental, social and economic impacts of the production and consumption of specialty coffee.

One of the aspects of the "Relationship Coffee" model is farmer training, and Sustainable Harvest has developed a unique approach to support the dissemination of best organic farming practices. It will provide the technology and support necessary for successful farmers to record, produce and distribute audio "podcasts" to other farmers via radio, internet and portable devices like MP3 players.

Organizationally, Sustainable Harvest reinvests about 40 percent of its gross operating margin into supply-side activities and farmer training programs. As such, profit margins are below industry standards, but the company makes this conscious choice because of the positive social and environmental impacts to the farmer families. In addition, Sustainable Harvest has implemented a compensation system in which the CEO as the highest paid employee earns a salary no greater than 7 times the lowest paid employee in the company's global operations.


Large Business Category

Doubletree Hotel and Executive Meeting Center
With over 250 employees, The Doubletree Hotel and Executive Meeting Center is a full service hotel and meeting facility that provides hospitality to hundreds of thousands of people each year.

The Doubletree team has embraced a sustainability program that is extraordinary for its industry that includes food service practices, energy savings initiatives, community engagement and innovative thinking to improve operations.

It can boast a great many "firsts," such as:

• First hotel in Oregon to meet Green Seal certification criteria for sustainable practices.
• First hotel to participate in the 'Portland Composts!' food waste diversion program.
• First hotel to be named one of the "100 Best Companies to Work for in Oregon" by Oregon Business magazine.
• First hotel to be a sustaining member of the Oregon Natural Step Network.
• First Doubletree Hotel to be recognized by Hilton Hotels Corporation with the "Doubletree Environmental CARE Award"
• First hotel in Portland to quantify its carbon footprint and offer carbon offsets for groups.

Some of Doubletree's achievements include:

• Investing over $250,000 since 1996 in energy efficiency solutions that have resulted in a 32% reduction in energy consumption.
• Diverting roughly 14 tons per month of pre and post-consumer waste from the landfill to a local business that produces compost
• Adding 15 local food vendors in 2006 and procuring nearly $335K from the local economy—a 23% year on year dollar increase.
• Creating a comprehensive benefits package for full-time employees including subsidized Tri-Met passes, free meals and discounts to Hilton properties worldwide.

Government/NGO Category

Metro
Metro is the Portland metropolitan area elected regional government that serves more than 1.3 million residents spanning three counties and 25 cities. It oversees land use, transportation and conservation issues, and manages a solid waste system, a network of parks and natural areas, and visitor sites such as the Oregon Zoo, the Expo Center, Oregon Convention Center (OCC) and the Portland Center for the Performing Arts (PCPA).

What began as a simple recycling program 20 years ago has developed into a comprehensive approach to incorporating sustainability into its practices. Activities too numerous to list are currently underway to promote energy conservation and the use of renewable energy, alternative transportation, water efficiency, waste reduction and pollution prevention, procurement and green development.

In 2003, the Metro Council passed a resolution that directs the Chief Operating Officer to develop and implement a sustainability plan that includes the following specific goals:

• zero net increase in carbon emissions
• zero discharge of persistent, bio-accumulative toxins
• zero waste disposed and incinerated
• fifty percent reduction in water consumption
• zero net loss of biodiversity and productive healthy habitat for forests and riparian areas.

From low-tech innovation like replacing power mowers with—well—goats, to high-tech solutions involving energy management software for computer networks, Metro has demonstrated creativity and commitment to sustainability. From Metro's councilors and employees who commute by bus and bike to the manufacture of low-VOC recycled paint to rainwater capture and filtration systems at the Oregon Convention Center, Metro truly leads by example.

Standing Stone Brewing Company
Standing Stone Brewing Company is a family-owned, full service restaurant and microbrewery in Ashland, Oregon, that has always been committed to sustainable business practices. By adopting energy-efficient systems, Standing Stone believes the company will enhance the restaurant's operation, increase profits and benefit the environment. It epitomizes "Reduce, reuse and renew."

From innovative and specific technologies, like slowing down kitchen hood fans during off-peak use, to more general energy system monitoring, Standing Stone has invested—and saved—wherever it could reduce its consumption of energy.

Now Standing Stone seeks to eliminate standby use of its brewery's steam boiler and re-use waste heat from its refrigeration systems to provide all of its hot water. The estimated cost to implement these systems is $70,000, and they expect to save over $11,000 per year! What is more, Standing Stone is also preparing to install a 4.4 kW solar array to generate renewable energy.

These measures would be considered exceptional for any restaurant operation to undertake; however, it is particularly notable that Standing Stone has done so in a building registered on the "National List of Historic Places." This special designation has created many challenges along the way, in order to satisfy the often-competing interests of historic structural integrity and energy usage.


Large Business Category

Siltronic Corporation
For the last 25 years, Siltronic Corporation has employed nearly 1,000 people while manufacturing silicon wafers for the semiconductor chip industry. At Siltronic, sustainable development is a corporate commitment expressed in its Environmental Policy statement.

Siltronic is being honored for its seven-year initiative to reduce water-soluble nitrate discharges, which can pose a threat to water quality and surrounding ecosystems. Since 2005, the company has reduced nitrate discharges by approximately half, through acid recovery and reuse.

This project has meant the avoidance or reduction of hundreds of tons of water treatment chemicals, wastewater sludge and nitrate discharge. In the process, Siltronic prevented the emissions of 3.8 million pounds of greenhouse gases.

In addition to the environmental benefits, the three partner companies associated with this initiative have realized economic benefit through either cost savings, increased revenue or both.


Government/NGO Category

International Sustainable Development Foundation
The International Sustainable Development Foundation was formed in 1997, and its mission is to advance both the understanding and the practice of sustainability by setting standards for sustainable development and building the capacity to achieve it.

This Focus Award pays tribute to two of ISDF's programs—the Zero Waste Alliance and The Green Electronics Council, and their successful launch of the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, commonly known as EPEAT.

EPEAT is essentially a national, market-based initiative for accelerating the design and manufacture of environmentally preferable electronic products. After three years and with input from over 100 stakeholders across the US, EPEAT has become the first accepted national standard for "green electronics;" is cited as a purchase criterion on over $42 billion worth of IT equipment purchase contracts; and it's already being adopted by other countries, such as Canada and New Zealand.

The US EPA estimates that the manufacture and sale of EPEAT registered computers by 2010 will save 16 million pounds of mostly hazardous waste and enough electricity to power 60,000 homes for a year!


City of Portland Office of Transportation
The city of Portland's Office of Transportation (PDOT) has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to sustainability at its Sunderland Recycling Facility where traditional "waste" materials generated from street maintenance operations are recycled and re-introduced as value-added product.

The Sunderland Recycling Facility also serves as a showcase for other sustainability initiatives, including the use of renewable energy sources. A 10-kilowatt wind turbine was recently constructed to provide electricity to offices and meeting space in one of the buildings on site, and solar panels are being used in several applications within the recycling facility.

In addition, PDOT has incorporated "green building" and energy efficiency design into the remodeling plans for one of its buildings on the site, and the recycling facility applies innovative water quality techniques through the use of native plants in its landscaping, establishment of a drainage system and detention pond, constructed wetlands and a water quality bioswale.

The financial benefits associated with PDOT's operations are significant and impressive. Since 2002, the agency has avoided nearly $60 million in program costs including hauling, disposal and the purchase of virgin material. Moreover, the $2 million it generates in revenue from recycled products offsets nearly all of the program's recycling costs.