State of Oregon: State facilities and land - Oregon Sustainability Board

Purpose

The Oregon Sustainability Board (OSB) was created in 2001 and encourages activities that best sustain, protect and enhance the environment, economy and community for the present and future benefit of Oregonians. Appointed by the Governor, members represent a variety of stakeholders across the State of Oregon.

The Legislatuare adopted the Oregon Sustainability Act (ORS 184.421-435), which established the state's overall sustainability policy. The legislation created the OSB and established legislative goals for the Board, and more generally for state government around sustainability. Subsequent executive orders and communications from the Governor directed the Board to oversee, review and approve sustainability plans developed by state agencies.

The Board, which meets quarterly, is actively involved in the oversight of agency sustainability plans and initiatives, as well as statewide projects working to enhance the environment, economy and community.

Agency Sustainability plan oversight

Agencies that have recently completed or updated their sustainability plans periodically report on their progress to the OSB.

In parellel to planning efforts, the OSB develops sustainability metrics on which agencies can report for comparison and aggregation.

Oregon Sustainability Board Meetings

Public Meetings of the Oregon Sustainability Board are held quarterly at various locations throughout the state. All meeting dates, times and locations are subject to change, and additional meetings may be added at the call of the chair.

Next public meeting: November 16, 2018, Oregon State University, Strand Ag Hall, Room 240, Corvallis, Oregon

Public Comment

Meeting agendas include time for public comment. If you would like to address the Board, please view guidelines for public comment.

Alternate formal request

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Board will provide PDF documents on this page in an alternate format upon request. Please contact David Wortman at david.wortman@oregon.gov.

Members

The Oregon Sustainabiity Board consists of the Governor or the Governor's representative and 10 additional members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. Members represent a diverse range of fields including: business; small business; natural resources, community health or economics; sustainability; and conservation of natural resources. The term of office of each member is four years.

Membership roster

2018 board meetings

August 16-17, 2018

April 20, 2018 Agenda

January 26, 2018

Email updates

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Board meeting archives

2017 Meetings

October 5-6, 2017

May 5, 2017

March 3, 2017

Material footprinting project

Every product has an environmental "footprint" - the resources used and pollutants released over the life of the product. This includes a product's production, use and management at end-of-life. The "carbon footprint" is the most common type of footprint, but businesses are exploring other types of footprints as well, addressing issues such as the water used to make products, or the toxic chemicals released over their life.

The OSB collorated with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the State of Washington and an advisory group of stakeholders from across Oregon and Washington to evaluate the potential benefits and challenges inherent in product-level environmental footprinting. Three projects emerged from this collaboration: Case studies, and analyses of food and concrete.

Case Studies

Businesses use product environmental footprinting to assess environmental conditions, identify opportunities for improvement, uncover business potential and communicate with customers. Case studies developed for the project include:

Food

Food footprint documents are posted on the Oregon DEQ website. These studies summarize existing product footprinting literature regarding the environmental impacts of a variety of foods - some of which are produced in Oregon, and others not produced here but consumed in significant quantities in Oregon. This information may be helpful to producers and purchasers working to reduce environmental impacts of foods. To understand the context and parameters of this project, begin your exploration with the project Foreward.

Here are several food study reports for tomatoes, wine, port, land-based acquaculture, beer, coffee and citrus fruits and juices. You will also find reports on transportation as well as packaging and wasted food.

Concrete

In partnership with the Oregon Concrete and Aggregate Producers Association, DEQ has made available to all concrete producers in Oregon a tool that allows them to calculate the carbon footprint of each of their different concrete mixes. The State of Oregon is also providing support for verifying these calculations so that they can be shared with customers in a format called an "environmental product declaration."

State Employee Sustainability Survey

The OSB, in collaboration with DAS and the Governor's office, has completed a survey of state agency leadership and staff on the topic of sustainability. The survey's aim was to evaluate agency leadership and staff levels of knowledge and support, priorities, perceived challenges and needs with respect to sustainability. Over 330 agency leaders and 1,200 staff members responded to the survey. Both groups indicated strong support for sustainability in their responses.