Sustainability Law Blog

The Ethisphere Institute, a New York-based business ethics and social responsibility think tank, has identified the world's 10 most sustainable cities. Portland, Oregon was the only U.S. city to make the list. The Institute remarked on Portland's role as a hub for sustainable industries, the interconnectedness of its urban planning and mass transit, and its overall environmental awareness. City leaders from around the world recruit Portland's sustainability experts to develop their own programs, the Institute noted.

Cities were judged on their environmental plans and programs, transportation and housing, sustainable initiatives, and health and recreation. The other nine cities are Victoria, Canada; Copenhagen, Denmark; Oslo, Norway; Helsinki, Finland; Edinburgh, Scotland; Doha, Qatar; Reykjavik, Iceland; Wellington, New Zealand, and Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The cities were not ranked within the top ten.

Post authored by David J. Petersen, partner practicing in the Sustainability and Real Estate and Land Use Practice Groups.

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Monday at SW First and Salmon was a glimpse of our transportation future. PGE rolled out the first of fifteen plug-in hybrid charging stations. Toyota brought one of its fleet of five plug-in hybrid Prius cars to demonstrate how the charging station works. PGE has plans to install fourteen more stations around the City, including at OMSI, OHSU and several Burgerville restaurants. The stations operate on relatively simple 220V technology, much like a clothes dryer or large freezer.

The primary advantage of plug-in hybrids over current hybrid vehicles is that the charging station is more efficient than the gasoline-powered engine at charging the batteries. This results in a greater proportionate use of electricity by the vehicle, which can increase gas mileage to close to 100 miles per gallon. Also, assuming the electricity at the power station comes from renewable technology like wind or solar, the carbon footprint of the vehicle is further reduced.

I stopped by Monday and talked to Rich George from PGE about some of the interesting legal issues posed by development of a network of charging stations across Oregon and the nation. First and foremost, who pays for the power -- the customer charging the car, or the host of the station? What role would electric utility regulation play in that relationship? One way to avoid thorny regulatory issues might be to charge for the use of the parking space rather than the electricity. In that case, what role might the Americans with Disabilities Act or similar legislation play? If so many charging stations and parking spaces are installed, must there be a set aside number of spaces with disabled access?

I'm sure these issues will be worked out over time. For now, it is nice to see the first step being taken here in Portland to make plug-in hybrids a reality.

Posted by David J. Petersen, partner practicing in the Sustainability and Real Estate & Land Use Practice Groups.

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Governor Kulongoski recently revealed his new comprehensive water strategy initiative, Headwaters to Ocean (H2O). The initiative's primary goal is to "achieve sustainable water supplies and quality to benefit Oregon's people, communities, economy, environment and ecosystems, and fish and wildlife" in the face of the pressures of climate change and rapid population growth. The H2O initiative is part of the Governor's legislative package designed to mitigate the impacts of global warming. To fund this initiative, Governor Kulongoski intends to ask the 2009 Legislature to put a referral bill before voters requesting $100 million from projected lottery dollars per biennium for 10 years. This bill, if passed, would then be placed on the November 2010 ballot. If approved, the H2O initiative would join a new class of climate change-based initiatives funded by lottery dollars.

The use of lottery money to fund climate change-based initiatives seems to be an emerging international concept. For example, the Climate Group, an independent, not-for-profit organization that works internationally with government and business leaders to advance climate change solutions, recently secured €1.5 million (approximately $2.36 million) from the Dutch National Postcode Lottery. The monies will be used to fund a global hub for climate change leadership involving influential state and regional governments around the world, including California and New York. Similarly, an injection of ₤1.25 million (approximately $2.47 million) in lottery funds from the UK's national lottery will help to fund a project aimed at making a small Scottish town, Stirling, the UK's first carbon neutral city.

Given the fact that Oregon is considered a forerunner in sustainability in the United States. Oregon's use of innovative funding to address climate change seems befitting its status as a "green state."

Posted by Jeanette C. Schuster, Attorney practicing in the Sustainability and Real Estate and Land Use Practice Groups.

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Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski recently outlined his policy proposals for boosting energy efficiency (Click here for a summary of the Governor's remarks). His proposals include net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 for all new residential and commercial buildings, energy performance certificates on all homes sold in Oregon, a new public awareness campaign, and expansion of the Oregon Business Energy Tax credit (BETC) and the State Energy Efficient Design program (SEED) .

The net-zero energy emissions goal is likely the most important of the Governor’s proposals because buildings are big energy consumers and have a big impact on the environment. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) reports that commercial and residential buildings use almost 40% of the primary energy and roughly 70% of the electricity in the U.S. Energy demand is also on the rise, with commercial sector demand doubling in size between 1980 and 2000 and expected to grow another 50% by 2025.

In contrast, net-zero energy buildings produce the majority of their own energy needs over the course of a year. Designed to be exceptionally energy efficient, these buildings are powered by renewable energy sources such as solar panels or wind turbines located on site. Ultimately, net-zero energy buildings could result in less energy consumption despite an expected boom in demand.

Nevertheless, the Governor’s plan will encounter challenges beyond his worries of how to finance the policies. To begin with, there is no single definition of net-zero energy efficient building.

Another concern is that a net-zero energy buildings are not necessarily green or sustainable structures. Builders are not required to use green building methods, such as reducing waste or using recycled building materials, to earn a net-zero structure certification.

All this goes to show that gaining energy efficiency isn't easy. Oregon will have many choices to make, on energy efficiency and other green options, as it marches into a sustainable future.

Posted by Marc Sanchez, Summer Associate at Tonkon Torp LLP.

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Did you ever wonder what's buried in a cemetery – besides dead bodies? According to Michael d' Estries in a March 25 post in Green Living, "The average cemetery buries 1,000 gallons of embalming fluid, 97.5 tons of steel, 2,028 tons of concrete, and 56,250 board feet of high quality wood in just one acre of green." I don't know what's scarier, dead bodies or 1,000 gallons of embalming fluid. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust – apparently not.

Don't want to spend eternity polluting the Earth? Now you can "go green" even when you're no longer going. Just have a ‘natural burial.’ “It is composting at its best,” said Cynthia Beal, owner of Portland's The Natural Burial Company, in "Green Funerals Feature Biodegradable Coffins," a December 27, 2007 CNN.com/technology post. The Natural Burial Company sells the Ecopod, a kayak shaped coffin made from recycled newspapers. Cynthia's book, "Be a Tree," will be available soon.

Natural burials have been popular in Britain for years. Now many burial companies in the United States are offering a natural alternative. Memorial Ecosystems Inc. opened the first green cemetery in the U.S., The Ramsey Preserve in South Carolina, and green cemeteries are sprouting up all over the country.

The Green Burial Council says it has been working since 2005 “to make burial sustainable for the planet, meaningful for families, and economically viable for the provider." According to its website, greenburialcouncil.org, they're doing it by:

• developing a certification program that is bringing about a new ethic in death care rooted in transparency, accountability and ecological responsibility;

• building out an international network of "approved providers" committed to reducing toxins, waste and carbon emissions associated with conventional end of life rituals; and

• bringing conservation organizations together with cemetery operators, funeral establishments and cremation companies to create burial programs that facilitate the restoration, acquisition and stewardship of natural areas.

Cynthia wants to be a cherry tree, but she and others in the green burial movement are fertilizing the seeds of something grander.

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Three major U.S. banks -- Citigroup, JP Morgan-Chase, and Morgan Stanley – recently established new guidelines for assessing climate change risk when asked to fund power plant-related projects. The banks' "Carbon Principles" recognize the economic value of low carbon emissions and encourage clients to lower those emissions by investing in renewable energy and implementing low-emissions technologies. Also, potential borrowers will need to demonstrate their commitment to cleaner technologies and to evaluate more carbon-friendly alternatives when seeking financing for power plant projects. The principles were devised with input from both energy companies and environmental groups, and all involved seem satisfied with the outcome.

The principles are further evidence that the marketplace increasingly sees eventual regulation of carbon emissions as inevitable. Recognizing that their clients will eventually have to incorporate carbon emissions costs into their business models, the banks wisely have developed these guidelines to minimize the risks of investing in carbon-intensive projects. Nothing drives corporate behavior quite like the need to please those with the money, so these guidelines have a good chance of having a significant effect on the development of more carbon-friendly power plants.

Posted by David J. Petersen, partner practicing in the Sustainability and Real Estate & Land Use Practice Groups.

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In honor of Earth Day, I thought people might be interested in hearing about the ABA-EPA Law Office Climate Challenge. Tonkon Torp has been named a "Climate Challenge Partner" for adopting best practices with regard to paper management.

There are a number of regional and local sustainability programs targeted at businesses (at least in the Portland area), but this is the only national program targeting law firms that I'm aware of. There are new firms joining the challenge every time I check the website, which is a good sign.

Happy Earth Day!

Posted by Robyn Ridler Aoyagi, partner practicing in the Litigation and Appellate Law Groups.

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If you missed the Software Association of Oregon's Clean Tech Forum, it was an informative discussion about the convergence of sustainability and technology. Over 30 speakers presented on the following topics:

Three Ways Your Company Can Leverage State & Local Programs to Become More Green

The Evolving Data Center from Red to Green

Ron Pernick, Co-founder and Principal, Clean Edge, Inc., and co-author of The Clean Tech Revolution, gave the keynote talk.

For more information, see the SAO's website here.

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According to the Urban Land Institute and Smart Growth America, transportation-based carbon emissions are a three-legged stool: vehicle fuel efficiency, the carbon content of the fuel itself, and the number of miles driven.

Most efforts to reduce transportation emissions have focused on fuel efficiency. Lower-carbon fuels such as biofuels are also rapidly becoming part of our fuel supply. However, not much attention has been given to reducing the third leg – miles traveled.

How do we reduce miles traveled? The classic approach is to improve public transit, but that is a long-term and expensive solution, and there is a limit to the number of travelers who will take public transit no matter how available it is. A more novel approach is to consider how land use planning impacts transportation. This means containing sprawl, of course, but it also means planning uses and zones in ways that mimic people's driving habits so as to reduce the miles necessary to complete vehicle trips. For example, placing more small-scale commercial centers in residential neighborhoods, rather than forcing everyone to shop at big box stores miles away, will reduce vehicle trips and the drivers won't even realize its happening.

This isn't just theoretical; the land use advocacy group 1000 Friends of Oregon is leading efforts to set goals and adopt policies for land use planning in Oregon to implement these principles. You can read more in the Oregonian's editorial here.

Posted by David J. Petersen, partner practicing in the Sustainability and Real Estate & Land Use Practice Groups.

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