Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Behavioral Change : An Assessment of Past Research On Energy Use, Transportation and Water Consumption

17 p.Behavioral changes are certain to be an important component in reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and combating climate change. However, relatively little research has been done to clarify what is known about the ability to motivate people to change their behavior in a way that reduces GHGs. This report provides a preliminary overview of the existing research on this critical question. It then provides a framework for thinking about how to plan and execute GHG reducing behavioral change interventions. This is not a comprehensive assessment. Instead, it highlights some of the most readily available relevant research on behavioral change and GHG reductions in three domains: energy use, transportation, and water consumption. Our intent is to offer a clear, simple, basic guide that can serve as a starting point for implementation of behavioral change programs and for further research into the topic

Sustainability and the financial sector

24 p.This document outlines some of the challenges facing the region’s financial community regarding its contribution to "sustainable development." Strategies and practices which reduce the pressures that economic and community development activities place on the environment in a manner which maintains or enhances economic well-being are often called sustainable development or sustainability programs. The financial sector may have two overall roles to play in promoting sustainable development. First, it could apply principles of sustainability to its internal operations and develop policies and programs to reduce its pollution and waste. Second, it could develop products and services which encourage environmentally sustainable investments and business practices

Towards a sustainable Washington: the benefits of “decoupling” economic growth from the growth of environment impacts

2 p.The Center for Watershed and Community Health, a research institute in the Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, in partnership with academic and private economists in Washington, is investigating the costs and benefits of environmentally sustainable business and government practices. Five major economic reports and two handbooks have been produced so far. Each found that the adoption of environmentally sustainable practices is good for the overall economy, good for individual businesses, good for government, and, almost as a side benefit, good for salmon and the environment. In short, we found that sustainability practices are often just plain good business

Saving salmon, sustaining agriculture: opportunities to conserve the environment while improving the economic well-being of farms in the Northwest

36 p.This report explores the validity of these concerns. It poses the question: do the costs of adopting more environmentally sustainable and salmon friendly agricultural practices outweigh the economic benefits? The result of our research suggests that this is not the case. To the contrary, we assessed the costs and benefits of changes in supply side and demand side farming practices and found that, at a minimum, adopting more environmentally sustainable practices may, at a minimum, have a neutral economic impact on most farms, and may, at best, save many farmers money, lead to increased market share, and for those who market their products as organic or sustainably grown, even increase price margins by 5%-30% or more

Crisis or opportunity? Oregon's environmental programs at the crossroads: a framework to decouple economic growth from environmental impacts to achieve sustainable development

53 p.It is clear to many that Oregon’s approach to environmental management is at a crossroads. The state can continue to manage the environment one crisis at a time or, it can establish an framework which leads to agreement over what is needed to manage the environment sustainably and mobilizes, guides and integrates efforts to achieve those ends. This would help resolve today’s problems and respond to new ones before they become crisis. It would also position Oregon as a center of excellence in environmentally efficient business and community development. This document outlines the potential components of a framework to achieve the latter. This can be called a framework to place Oregon on a path towards Sustainable Development. The proposed framework has three overall components: the state would declare that achieving sustainable development is a top priority and establish clear goals and a mechanisms to mobilize, guide and integrate government, private sector and community efforts towards this end; each state agency would adopt clear goals and outcome-based strategies to align internal rules, regulations and programs and to mobilize, guide and support constituent efforts to achieve the new state sustainability goal; and ongoing private sector and community sustainability efforts would be complemented by new initiatives aimed at the common state goal of achieving sustainable development

"Just plain good business": the economic and environmental benefits of sustainability as exemplified by one hundred sixty case examples

112 p.This report describes how over 160 companies and organizations have adopted practices and programs that generated savings of over $55 million annually while dramatically reducing their environment impacts. It follows the release of an earlier report, Saving Salmon, Saving Money: Innovative Business Leadership in the Pacific Northwest (Goodstein, Doppelt and Sable, 1999), which found data on 137 firms that had saved over$42 million from 1992-1999 taking steps to improve their environmental management. Saving Salmon, Saving Money was an analytical report that provided few actual descriptions of what the137 firms did to achieve the cost savings and environmental benefits. Since its release, we have continually received requests for actual case examples of how firms and organizations save money while improving the environment. This report is intended to fill this need

Extended producer responsibility and product take-back: applications for the Pacific Northwest

41 p.This report examines the principles, practices and policies of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and "product take-back" programs, and their potential application to the Pacific Northwest. EPR is an emerging principle for sustainable development that encourages producers to design their consumer products and delivery systems to keep waste and hazardous materials out of the waste stream. At its core, EPR focuses on the responsibility that producers have for the waste and environmental impacts their products generate at the end of their life-cycle. We have examined EPR to determine the degree to which product take-back policies and practices can contribute to the development of an environmentally sustainable regional economy. The search for new approaches to sustainability is driven, in part, by the fact that the region is struggling to conserve energy and water while restoring endangered salmon and other ecological systems at the same time that pollution and waste are growing at, or above, the rate of economic and population growth. We begin this assessment by discussing the principles and practices associated with EPR and product take-back. We then examine a number of policy approaches and instruments that have been used to promote EPR. This is followed by case studies of selected take-back programs established voluntarily by major U.S. corporations. We conclude with an analysis of the key issues that must be addressed to develop effective EPR policies and programs in the Pacific Northwest. The appendix includes the information generated from our case studies of both voluntary and mandated take-back programs in nine countries, covering five major industries

Benefits to fish, benefits to farmers: improving streamflow and water allocation in the Northwest

25 p.This paper is intended to outline a framework and provide policy recommendations for expanding the tools and approaches available to transfer water between out-of-stream and instream uses and also among out-of-stream uses. The document is an outcome of a multi-year effort to assess the costs and benefits of water acquisition strategies, begun in 2000 by the PSU (now UO) Center for Watershed and Community Health. The report suggests that one key to expanding water transfers in the region is to frame the goal, when possible, as a means to help all users of water—both farmers and other water right holders—to meet their objectives. This approach may be viewed more positively than ones which has at times been interpreted by some agricultural interests as involving only costs without any offsetting benefits for them or their communities

Establishing environmentally sustainable and economically efficient economies: from waste management towards zero waste

22 p.This document recommends establishing zero waste goals and policies in Oregon and the Northwest and suggests a number of steps that can be phased-in to achieve this. To aim towards zero waste, the region must move from an existing dominant focus on waste management to a new focus on preventing waste as it is currently defined, redesigning the waste management infrastructure, and on generating income and jobs through waste-based economic development. These steps will be good for the economy and environment. We believe that it is possible to move towards zero waste in Oregon and the Northwest through an interconnected three-part strategy: 1) develop "extended producer responsibility" goals and policies which require that manufacturers develop take-back strategies for all products that currently end up in landfills or incinerators. These policies are intended to force the emphasis "upstream" to stimulate new product designs and material selections which facilitate the reuse and recycling of products; 2) improve the "downstream" reuse and recycling of end-of-product-life materials through improved waste management infrastructure, waste exchange programs, recycled material market development and other steps; and 3) foster and support waste-based businesses as economic development and jobs creation opportunities, especially in low income rural communities or urban neighborhoods

Sustainable practices, jobs, and distressed communities in the Pacific Northwest: an overview

27 p.This paper provides an overview of how the adoption of sustainable practices by businesses, communities and governments can affect employment and economic opportunities for distressed communities in the Pacific Northwest. “Sustainable practices” reduce waste in the use of energy, water and other raw materials (especially toxins), and curtail harmful environmental impacts. “Distressed communities” include places, such as low-income urban neighborhoods and rural towns, as well as groups, such as low-skill workers, that exhibit high levels of unemployment or poverty. Understanding the relationships among sustainable practices, jobs, and distressed communities is especially important because businesses, communities, and governmental agencies are accelerating their adoption of sustainable practices to lower costs for energy, materials, and waste clean-up, and to comply with legal obligations that require reduced environmental impacts. Furthermore, to compete effectively in many regional, national, and global markets, businesses increasingly must satisfy sustainability standards. In some industrial sectors, global demand for goods and services associated with sustainable practices is growing, and businesses in the Pacific Northwest are striving to become market leaders. In sum, the adoption of sustainable practices is growing and many forces exist that suggest that the trend will continue and grow. Workers and distressed communities need to know what to expect so they can prepare themselves to take advantage of new, sustainable jobs and be prepared when jobs associated with unsustainable practices are lost