The impact of the Built Environment program
DEQ's Built Environment Program works to reduce the environmental impacts of buildings and construction. The program supports affordable, lower-impact, and more sustainable building materials and construction practices. It does this by providing technical expertise, financial incentives, education, and collaboration with public and private partners at the local and state level.
Thoughtful development
How and where housing is built matters. Thoughtful housing development can reduce environmental harm and support healthier, more resilient, and more equitable communities. This includes using lower-impact materials, healthier products, and responsible sourcing, and designing space-efficient housing in well-located areas.
New housing does not always require new construction. Adapting underutilized buildings for residential use is an option that deserves greater attention. Reuse projects can provide additional benefits: they reactivate previously developed areas, preserve community spaces and heritage, support walkable neighborhoods, reduce vehicle dependence, and make use of existing roads and utilities.
Examples of work
Low-Embodied Carbon Housing Incentive Program
DEQ is partnering with nine local governments to provide financial incentives and technical assistance for low-embodied carbon, affordable housing development. Partner jurisdictions include the cities of Bend, Eugene, Hood River, Medford, Ontario, Pendleton, Portland, Reedsport, and Tillamook County.
A total of $25 million in incentives is available as rebates: up to $20,000 per unit for space-efficient housing, and up to $45,000 per unit for building reuse-to-residential projects. The program demonstrates the benefits of building reuse, right-sized housing, and lower-embodied carbon materials in meeting Oregon's housing production and climate goals.
With current funding, the program will support approximately 1,000 housing units and will run through March 2029. Incentives are available until funds are fully committed. The program may be extended if additional funding is secured.
Built for Well-being Grant
The Built for Well-being Grant is a $2 million grant program administered by DEQ's Materials Management program. The 2026 grant cycle focuses on reducing exposure to toxic substances in the built environment. The 2026 application period has closed. Subscribe to the DEQ mailing list for information about the 2028 and future grant cycles.
Housing fact sheets
DEQ's Built Environment Program has published a series of briefs on the environmental impacts of building materials and ways to reduce those impacts in housing production. The briefs focus on embodied carbon, exposure to toxicants, and forced labor.
Low-embodied carbon concrete
DEQ's Built Environment program worked with the Oregon Concrete and Aggregate Producers Association and Oregon concrete producers to develop 1,500 concrete mix Environmental Product Declarations. EPDs quantify and report the environmental impacts of a product, helping developers and contractors make more sustainable procurement decisions. DEQ also partnered with a residential design-build firm to pilot low-embodied carbon concrete in home construction and published a case study on the results.
Outreach and technical assistance
- DEQ's Built Environment team regularly offers technical assistance on more sustainable building practices and products to other agencies and organizations.
- Collaborated with the Building Codes Division on its 2024 report to the Oregon Legislature: "Options to Reduce GHG Emissions Attributable to Building Materials" (HB 3409, 2023).
- Collaborated with the Department of Land Conservation and Development on "Climate-Smart Housing Production Strategies" (also provided funding).
- Collaborated with the Oregon Housing and Community Services and Oregon Health Authority on incorporating sustainability into their standards and evaluation criteria.
- Provided technical testimony and expertise to the Climate Action Commission (2020–present), Resilient Efficient Building Task Force (2021–2022), Factory-Produced Housing Advisory Committee (2025–present), and Oregon Sustainability Board's Buildings Subcommittee (2026–present).