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Oregon Environmental Council

Oregon Environmental Council (OEC) advances innovative, collaborative solutions to Oregon’s environmental challenges for today and future generations. We work to create innovative change on three levels: we help individuals live green; we help businesses, farmers and health providers thrive with sustainable practices; and we help elected officials create practical policy.

Our vision for Oregon includes solving global warming, protecting kids from toxins, cleaning up our rivers, building sustainable economies, and ensuring healthy food and local farms.

And we're efficient too: 81% of our income goes directly to our program work.

Our Achievements

From the inception of the modern environmental movement, Oregon Environmental Council staff and volunteers have worked across the state to advocate on behalf of all Oregonians. Our notable results have made Oregon a healthier, cleaner place for all of us, and for the generations to come. Below are some of our key environmental health achievements.

Children's Health

OEC has two strategic programs to protect children’s health from toxic pollution. Oregon Environmental Council’s Eco-Healthy Schools program educates and advocates for a comprehensive approach to making schools healthier on the inside and out by reducing car idling on campus, establishing integrated pest management practices, accelerating replacement of dirty diesel school buses, facilitating the purchase of green cleaning products, and promoting the adoption of green building practices. Our Consumer Chemical Policy Reform Campaign seeks to protect the health of all children through public policies that protect children’s health, including policies that reduce the use of harmful chemicals in children’s products, by building an empowered, diverse and united base of support through targeted outreach, community-building and public forums.

2010
    *  Released the Advancing Green Chemistry in Oregon report, the outcome of a six-month study by the Oregon Green Chemistry Advisory Group. The group believes its recommendations will further the development of green chemistry in Oregon—and help the state maintain its place as a leader of sustainable business.
    * Launched the Eco-Healthy Home Challenge and Eco-Healthy Homes Checkup Kit. The checkup kit is a free 24-page booklet identifying a home’s environmental problems with easy, and often free, solutions tailored to each home environment.
    * Transferred and merged OEC's Eco-Healthy Child Care program (EHCC) to the Washington, DC-based Children’s Environmental Health Network’s Healthy Environments for Child Care Facilities and Preschools program (HECCP) to create a national program for child care providers. As of fall 2010, EHCC endorses 1,492 facilities. Together, the programs care for nearly 65,000 children within 48 states, Canada and Australia.




2009
    * Passed low-carbon fuel standard requiring transportation fuel providers to do their fair share to slow global warming. Under the standard, petroleum providers must reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of the fuel mix they sell into Oregon by 10% by 2020.
    * Passed legislation requiring K-12 schools and community colleges to utilize integrated pest management, a least-toxic pest management strategy that effectively controls indoor and outdoor pests.
    * Passed legislation that ensures all highly polluting diesel school buses will be replaced or retrofit by 2017, protecting kids from asthma attacks and long-term health threats triggered by diesel exhaust.
    * Helped pass the strongest ban in the nation on the toxic flame retardant Deca-BDE, adding to our victory in 2005 banning two other toxic flame retardants.
    * Secured policies that will change the way Oregon plans and builds its transportation system, including development of a least-cost planning model, a requirement that the Portland region adopt land use and transportation measures that reduce greenhouse gases, and incorporation of environmental performance standards into design and construction of all state highway construction projects.

2008
    * Expanded first-in-the-nation Eco-Healthy Child Care program nationwide
    * Released landmark Pollution in People report, which tested the bodies of 10 Oregon men and women for chemicals, followed by the Price of Pollution report, the state’s first-ever economic assessment of the true costs of environmentally triggered disease in Oregon

2007
    * Passed Climate Change Integration Act which set aggressive greenhouse gas reduction goals into statute and established a statewide Global Warming Commission
    * Passed Renewable Fuels Standard to promote the development of local, sustainable biofuels
    * Succeeded in phasing out the Pollution Control Tax Credit, which provided taxpayer money to companies to comply with environmental laws
    * Supported creation of an Oregon Environmental Justice Task Force, which will advise state agencies on how to protect all communities from pollution, enact laws equitably and involve traditionally under-represented communities in reviewing agency actions
    * Helped to pass Measure 49, a partial fix to Measure 39's rollback of statewide land use planning
    * Launched the Carbon Neutral Challenge for Oregon wineries, with more than 30 wineries participating to reduce their carbon footprint

2006
    * Secured adoption of clean car standards to reduce tailpipe emissions, which will cut global warming pollution from new cars and light duty trucks by an average of 22% by 2012 and 30% by 2016
    * Won national EPA Children’s Environmental Health Excellence Award for our Eco-Healthy Child Care and Tiny Footprints programs that help parents and caregivers reduce children’s exposure to toxic chemicals

2005
    * Passed legislation banning toxic flame retardants that contaminate women’s breast milk

2003
    * Passed a first-of-its-kind tax incentive for insurance companies to offer Pay-as-You-Drive (per-mile) auto insurance. When available, PAYD insurance will offer drivers more control over driving expenses and provide a strong financial incentive to drive less.
    * Secured Environmental Quality Commission adoption of new rules to begin reducing toxic air pollution (diesel, benzene, etc.) after five years of effort. Rules go beyond EPA requirements and are a national model

2001
    * Mercury pilot projects swapped over 3,000 switches in cars, increased fluorescent tube recycling by 8% in targeted areas, and reduce mercury pollution from industrial boilers

1999
    * Passed top legislative priority – a Pesticide Right to Know Law guaranteeing public access to data about all commercial pesticide use in Oregon. Only the third such law in the nation.

1998
    * Helped launch nation’s first for-profit car sharing firm

1997
    * Created “50 Ways to Love Your River” booklet and distributed over 20,000 copies, with over 1 million media “hits” from public service messages in print, radio, animated TV spot

1991
    * Secured toughest law in the nation regulating cyanide heap-leach mining
    * Secured the nation’s first law requiring state agencies to minimize pesticide use

1989
    * Passed Oregon Groundwater Protection Act

1987
    * Created Oregon Superfund Program and the Governor’s Watershed Enhancement Board (GWEB, now known as Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board)

1983
    * Passed Oregon’s law guaranteeing curbside recycling and the first legislation nationally to set pollution standards for wood stoves

1981
    * Passed Oregon’s Safe Drinking Water Act

1980
    * Crater Lake Wilderness Area bill is adopted: established ecologically-based boundary adjustments resulted in additional 22,890 acres to the park and accounted for natural topography in the design of Crater Lake National Park

1978
    * Defeated proposed Days Creek Dam on the South Umpqua River; helped gain wilderness status for French Pete Creek Valley

1977
    * Secured nation’s first ban on certain ozone-depleting chemicals

1975
    * Secured National Recreation Area protection for Hells Canyon

1973
    * Helped pass SB100, Oregon’s land use planning law

1972
    * Created Oregon’s first recycling hotline

1971
    * Led citizen support that passed Oregon’s bottle bill, the first in the nation
    * OEC is sole environmental group advocating bill to establish a role for the state in energy facility siting.  Creation of the Nuclear and Thermal Energy Council puts the state in the driver’s seat with regard to nuclear facility siting
    * Supported the passing of the historic Beach Bill protecting Oregon’s coast

1969
    * OEC has 1st full-time environmental advocate & legislative lobbyist working in Salem
    * First conference on statewide Oregon environmental concerns sponsored by OEC

1968
    * OEC founded
    * Passed Mt. Jefferson Wilderness Bill