Concern for the environment is a primary part of the culture at the Port of Portland. We strive to reduce our impact on the land, the sky and the water and help others reduce theirs.

The Port Environmental Policy, adopted in 2000, established a series of ongoing ambitious environmental practices that focus on air and water quality, energy conservation, recycling, and natural resource management.

In the area of air quality the Port has been successful in emissions reductions efforts through retrofitting and re-powering legacy equipment, purchase of new cleaner fuel and fuel efficient vehicles.

The Port is recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as a major purchaser of renewable energies. Those purchases offset 6,154 tons of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to taking 1,055 cars off the road.

Through the Port's Waste and Recycling Program supplies are reused throughout the facilities; even glossy periodicals on Lufthansa flights from Germany find new life in German-language classes in high schools statewide. Bins at PDX make it easy for travelers to recycle paper, metal and plastic.

Grease from PDX restaurants is turned into biofuel. Ninety percent of all construction waste is recycled. Airline partners now collect and recycle cans and bottles from deplaned aircraft. Even leftovers at the food court are recycled. By partnering with 21 PDX concessionaires, pre and post-consumer waste diversion programs send nearly 150 tons of food annually to become compost rather than landfill.

In terms of water quality, innovative technologies such as porous asphalt, the use of swales and natural vegetation on and around our surface lots and collecting and temporarily storing biodegradable de-icing materials are just some of the steps we take to keep Oregon's waterways clean for fish, wildlife and people.

We also work to reduce the amount of water we use by employing irrigation controllers; using non-potable water for irrigating and employing low flow and automatic shut-off washroom units.

We do all of this not because it's fashionable to be green, but because we take seriously our mission to enhance our region's quality of life.