Spring is here and that means flowers, a bit of sunshine, Earth Week and the 18th annual BEST Awards Breakfast!!

Join me on April 20th as we honor leading, local companies that promote environmental quality and social equity as they make and sell their goods and services locally, nationally and internationally. 

Mayor Sam Adams will host the event and reveal this year's winners and finalists, chosen from more than 60 applicant companies. The keynote address will feature Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, CEO of Green for All (www.greenforall.org). Her inspirational presentation will focus on sustainability leadership in the 21st Century, and how Portland must lead the way for the rest of the country.
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Homeowners have long faced tough decisions about spending limited home improvement budgets on home insulation, in lieu of a kitchen upgrade or a roof repair. Clean Energy Works Portland helps homeowners create energy efficient homes with no upfront costs. This unique pilot program is designed to help homeowners improve the value of their homes in a real estate market that values green upgrades, with no initial cash outlay. 
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The Portland Plan will be the City's roadmap for the next 25 years, guiding our direction as the city grows and changes. We face some real challenges, and our response to those challenges will create the Portland of 2035 - the city of our children and grandchildren. 

As we wrap up Phase One of the Portland Plan and prepare for Phase Two, we're summarizing what we've learned so far and taking Portlanders' input to develop a set of draft 2035 goals that the community can evaluate this spring. 
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According to author Anna Lappé, "If we are serious about addressing climate change we have to talk about food." 

Lappé will lead that conversation in Portland on Sunday, April 18 at 2 p.m.in the Portland Building when she participates in a panel discussion, Food and the Climate Change: Step Up to the Plate. This free event will also include other area experts discussing how food affects our personal and environmental health and the simple steps we all can take to make a difference.
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The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) has led the public process to clarify Portland's Zoning Code as it applies to schools and recreational fields. In response to community concerns about public schools, BPS has been working with community members to address issues around schools in their neighborhoods. The project has focused on four topic areas: 1) enrollment fluctuations; 2) change of grade level; 3) recreational field uses; and 4) conditional use status for vacant school property. 
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This new, free online resource helps both newcomers to green building techniques and savvy project managers to implement a green tenant improvement project in their workplace, from start to finish.  Read more>
 

BPS recently announced the recipients of the 2010 Portland Recycles! Small Grants Program. From a total of 30 applications, the BPS small grants program funded 18 groups. 
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