Oregon is known for its green-minded citizens, and many workers are attracted to firms and organizations that practice green, not just pay lip service to it.
Oregon is known for its green-minded citizens, and many workers are attracted to firms and organizations that practice green, not just pay lip service to it.
Our sixth annual 100 Best Green Workplaces survey shows just how important employees rate sustainable practices. Recycling, energy conservation and buying local are just a few of the policies employees want to see in their workplace. The best green companies and nonprofits are acting on these preferences, offering bonuses for biking and taking public transport; recycling and composting; and cutting energy use.
Employers’ efforts to green their workplaces parallels what is happening at the regulatory level. State authorities are implementing energy efficiency policies in the electric utility sector and transitioning transportation to cleaner fuels. Gov. John Kitzhaber’s 10-year energy plan calls for all of the state’s new electricity demand to be met through energy efficiency and conservation.
Momentum is also increasing in the western U.S. to create a regional partnership to combat climate change. The Pacific Coast Action Plan, an agreement signed by governors of Oregon, Washington, California and the premier of British Columbia last year, calls for harmonizing greenhouse-gas reduction targets and putting a price on carbon emissions.
These are just some of the examples of how greening the workplace is part of a broader effort to green the economy.
Who are the 100 Best Green workplaces?
Almost 70% of the 100 Best Green Workplaces are for-profit companies, with nonprofits making up the remainder. Education, training and community development made up the largest sector (20%), consisting solely of nonprofits. Architecture, engineering and design made up the next largest segment (11%), followed by consulting (7%). Sectors with just a small percentage of green workplaces include healthcare; advertising, marketing and PR; accounting; telecom and internet; and utility.
How satisfied are employees with green practices in the workplace?
Participants of the 100 Best Green Workplaces survey were most content with their workplaces’ policies for recycling paper, glass, metals, packaging and other materials. They also had a high satisfaction rate for their workplaces’ sustainability mission. “Opportunities for participation in sustainability activities — both in our workplace and communities — are encouraged at all levels of our organization,” says one staffer.
On the flip side, employees participating in the survey were least content with their employers’ rewards and recognition of workers for meeting sustainability goals, such as taking public transport. “I would like to see more initiative in the offering of transportation subsidies,” says one employee. Employees also had lower satisfaction rates for their workplaces’ efforts to reduce toxic materials and chemicals, to conserve water and to measure progress toward sustainability. Greening the workplace is a well-established business practice, but it appears many employers have yet to tackle tougher challenges, such as reporting on steps taken towards meeting green goals.
How employers rate their sustainable practices
Companies and nonprofits were required to fill out 15 questions that showed to what degree workplaces support and promote sustainable practices. All participating companies scored highest on their support for recycling materials, such as paper and glass. They also scored highly on buying local materials and supplies, as well as conserving energy, such as turning off unused equipment and using energy-efficient light bulbs. Companies got lower overall scores for more sophisticated green practices, such as buying renewable power or carbon offsets. They also ranked lower for rewarding or recognizing employees for being sustainable and investing in green facilities, such as LEED-certified buildings.
How are the Companies judged?
The 100 Best Green Workplaces were determined by 16,000 employees from more than 400 companies and nonprofits that took part in two anonymous surveys: The 2014 100 Best Companies and 2013 100 Best Nonprofits projects. As part of the surveys, Oregon workers rated their satisfaction with and the importance of 10 statements related to sustainable practices at their workplaces, such as green missions and goals, recycling and waste reduction, support for public transit, energy and water conservation, and buying local. Employers were also independently scored on 15 questions about their sustainability policies.
For more information on our 100 Best, click here.
Rank 2014 | Rank 2013 | COMPANY/ORGANIZATION/WEBSITE | CITY | SCORE | DESCRIPTION |
1 | 4 | Rose City Mortgage rosecitymtg.com | Portland | 296.66 | Socially responsible mortgage broker |
2 | 1 | Research Into Action, Inc. researchintoaction.com | Portland | 291.73 | Energy-efficiency and renewable energy program evaluation and market research firm |
3 | 10 | Rogue Creamery roguecreamery.com | Central Point | 290.77 | Artisan cheese producers |
4 | 18 | Columbia Printing & Cleanroom Inc. colprinting.com | Portland | 288.18 | Cleanroom consumables, digital and commercial printing |
5 | 7 | Oregon Environmental Council oeconline.org | Portland | 285.86 | Environmental conservation |
6 | 2 | Standing Stone Brewing Company standingstonebrewing.com | Ashland | 285.82 | Restaurant and brewery |
7 | NR | LifeSource Natural Foods lifesourcenaturalfoods.com | Salem | 285.63 | Independant natural foods retailer |
8 | 8 | Capital Pacific Bank capitalpacificbank.com | Portland | 285.44 | Business banking and financial services |
9 | 48 | Anthro Corporation anthro.com | Tualatin | 284.97 | Furniture design and manufacturing |
10 | 5 | DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Portland doubletreegreen.com | Portland | 281.82 | Sustainable hotel in downtown Portland |
11 | 17 | The Hershey Co./DAGOBA dagobachocolate.com | Ashland | 280.36 | Maker of chocolate and confectionary products |
12 | 12 | Tualatin Valley Water District tvwd.org | Beaverton | 280.31 | Provides water to more than 200,000 people in Washington County |
13 | NR | SERA Architects serapdx.com | Portland | 278.77 | Sustainable architecture and design firm |
14 | 61 | REACH Community Development reachcdc.org | Portland | 277.86 | Affordable housing development, repair and management |
15 | 102 | AJ’s Auto Repair ajsautorepair.com | Salem | 277.28 | Automotive repair and maintenance |
16 | 11 | Capitol Auto Group capitolauto.com | Salem | 276.41 | Automotive sales and service |
17 | 26 | Vernier Software & Technology vernier.com | Beaverton | 276.25 | Web design, software and hardware for teaching science, math and engineering |
18 | 46 | Friends of Zenger Farm zengerfarm.org | Portland | 275.51 | Farm-based education for young people and families |
19 | 35 | PECI peci.org | Portland | 274.90 | Designs and manages energy-efficiency programs |
20 | 29 | Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest jvcnorthwest.org | Portland | 274.75 | Recruits, places and supports full-time volunteers serving social service agencies, schools and nonprofits |
21 | 53 | Image Pressworks imagepressworks.com | Portland | 273.84 | Commericial printing firm |
22 | 54 | Trash for Peace trashforpeace.org | Portland | 273.09 | Promotes reducing, reusing, and recycling waste |
23 | NR | Adelante Mujeres adelantemujeres.org | Forest Grove | 272.99 | Provides education and empowerment opportunities to low-income Latina women and their families |
24 | 33 | Realty Trust Group realtytrust.com | Portland | 272.85 | Local real estate company |
25 | NR | On-the-Move Community Integration onthemoveonline.org | Portland | 272.73 | Inclusion services for adults with developmental disabilities |
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Rank 2014 | Rank 2013 | COMPANY/ORGANIZATION/WEBSITE | CITY | SCORE | DESCRIPTION |
26 | 19 | PAE pae-engineers.com | Portland | 271.76 | Mechanical/electrical engineering and sustainable design |
27 | 23 | Boly:Welch bolywelch.com | Portland | 270.94 | Provider of consulting and recruiting services |
28 | 27 | Ater Wynne LLP aterwynne.com | Portland | 270.21 | Multisector law firm |
29 | 49 | Green Hammer greenhammer.com | Portland | 270.12 | Architecture and design firm |
30 | 14 | Isler CPA islercpa.com | Eugene | 269.17 | Certified public accountants and business advisors |
31 | 42 | Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance neea.org | Portland | 268.61 | Regional energy-efficiency programs |
32 | 25 | Xanterra Parks & Resorts craterlakelodges.com | White City | 267.87 | Park management company |
33 | 28 | Perkins Coie LLP perkinscoie.com | Portland | 267.47 | Multi-sector law firm |
34 | 99 | Yost Grube Hall Architecture ygh.com | Portland | 267.02 | Architecture and design firm |
35 | NR | BRING Recycling bringrecyling.org | Eugene | 266.79 | Runs reuse and recycling programs |
36 | 24 | EARTH2O earth2o.com | Culver | 266.39 | Water delivery and bottle manufacturer |
37 | 31 | Portland YouthBuilders pybpdx.org | Portland | 266.30 | Alternative high school for low-income youth |
38 | 92 | RHT Energy Solutions rhtenergy.com | Medford | 266.07 | Energy engineering consulting firm |
39 | 40 | Bonneville Environmental Foundation b-e-f.org | Portland | 265.48 | Energy, carbon and water use consultants |
40 | 37 | Hopworks Urban Brewery hopworksbeer.com | Portland | 264.87 | Eco-brewpub with organic beers and local ingredients served in a sustainably built/operated building |
41 | 3 | Gerding Edlen gerdlingedlen.com | Portland | 264.86 | Real estate development, property management and investment management |
42 | 78 | PREM Group premgrp.com | Portland | 264.76 | Real estate management company |
43 | 228 | Gresham Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center greshamchamber.org | Gresham | 264.17 | Chamber of commerce |
44 | 15 | Green Acres Landscape Inc. greenacreslandscapenc.com | Salem | 263.86 | Landscape contractor and maintenance company |
45 | 21 | Salem Convention Center salemconventioncenter.org | Salem | 263.54 | Full-service convention center |
46 | NR | Mount Pisgah Arboretum mountpisgaharboretum.org | Eugene | 263.51 | Living tree museum with eight miles of trails, public facilities and environmental education programs |
47 | 130 | Levi Strauss & Co. levistrauss.com | Eugene | 263.36 | International jean and apparel company |
47 | NR | Holst Architecture holstarc.com | Portland | 263.36 | Architecture and design firm |
49 | 83 | Barran Liebman LLP barran.com | Portland | 262.79 | Employment, labor and benefits law firm |
50 | 69 | Earth Advantage earthadvantage.org | Portland | 262.69 | Sustainable buildings research and consulting |
50 | NR | Cascade Employers Association cascadeemployers.com | Salem | 262.69 | HR training, consulting and recruitment |
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Rank 2014 | Rank 2013 | COMPANY/ORGANIZATION/WEBSITE | CITY | SCORE | DESCRIPTION |
52 | 6 | Sokol Blosser Winery sokolblosser.com | Dundee | 262.30 | Vineyard, winery, and tasting room |
53 | NR | Treasure Valley Children’s Relief Nursery tvcrn.org | Ontario | 262.09 | Child-abuse prevention programs |
54 | 58 | Terwilliger Plaza terwilligerplaza.com | Portland | 261.24 | Continuing-care retirement community |
55 | 32 | Family Relief Nursery familyreliefnursery.org | Cottage Grove | 261.05 | Child-abuse prevention programs |
56 | 55 | Landscape East & West landscapeeast.com | Clackamas | 261.01 | Landscape maintenance and installation |
57 | 88 | Oregon Wild oregonwild.org | Portland | 260.98 | Protects and restores Oregon’s wildlands, wildlife and waters |
58 | NR | Port of Portland portofportland.com | Portland | 260.91 | Operates airports, marine terminals and industrial parks in the greater Portland metropolitan area |
59 | NR | Willamette Valley Vineyards wvv.com | Turner | 260.60 | Vineyard and winemaker |
60 | 150 | McKenzie Commercial Contractors mckenziecommercial.com | Eugene | 260.52 | Commercial construction services |
61 | 63 | R&H Construction Co. rhconst.com | Portland | 259.40 | General contractor of commercial construction projects |
62 | 43 | Walsh Construction Co. walshconstructionco.com | Portland | 259.19 | General contractor with green building focus |
63 | 51 | Sponsors Inc. sponsorsinc.org | Eugene | 259.04 | Re-entry services to people with criminal histories |
64 | 52 | Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort skihood.com | Mt. Hood | 258.89 | Ski resort and ski instruction |
65 | NR | Rogue Valley Habitat for Humanity roguevalleyhabitat.org | Medford | 258.63 | Affordable housing agency |
66 | NR | Willamette University MBA – Atkinson Graduate School of Management willamette.edu/mba | Salem | 258.11 | Graduate school of management |
67 | NR | Assistance League of Salem-Keizer assistanceleaguesalem.org | Salem | 257.89 | Community-based philanthropic programs |
68 | 126 | Fortis Construction fortisconstruction.com | Portland | 257.59 | Employee-owned general contractor |
69 | 81 | Childpeace Montessori School childpeace.org | Portland | 257.49 | Independent Montessori school |
70 | 65 | Neil Kelly Company neilkelly.com | Portland | 256.82 | Residential design and remodeling contractor |
71 | NR | Recology recology.com | portland | 256.41 | Integrated waste hauling, processing and recycling |
72 | NR | Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon mesopdx.org | Portland | 256.30 | Capital and coaching for entrepreneurs in Washington, Clackamas, Multnomah and Columbia counties |
73 | 176 | VanderHouwen & Associates vanderhouwen.com | Portland | 255.83 | IT, accounting/finance and engineering staffing |
74 | NR | Dallas Retirement Village dallasretirementvillage.com | Dallas | 254.96 | Retirement community offering independent and assisted living |
75 | 232 | Coquille Indian Housing Authority coquilleiha.org | Coos Bay | 254.26 | Tribal housing authority |
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Rank 2014 | Rank 2013 | COMPANY/ORGANIZATION/WEBSITE | CITY | SCORE | DESCRIPTION |
76 | 214 | Portland Homeless Family Solutions pdxhfs.org | Portland | 254.09 | Provides temporary, emergency shelter to homeless families with children |
77 | 162 | Matrix Networks matrixnetworks.com | Portland | 253.78 | IP communication services |
78 | 71 | Oregon Supported Living Program oslp.org | Eugene | 253.31 | Community inclusion and supported living programs |
79 | 60 | Northwest Family Services nwfs.org | Portland | 253.30 | Skills-based activities and workshops for young people and families |
80 | NR | OpenSourcery opensourcery.com | Portland | 253.04 | Open-source development firm |
81 | NR | Maxwell PR + Engagement maxwellpr.com | Portland | 252.89 | Public relations and consumer engagement agency |
82 | 74 | Wauna Federal Credit Union waunafcu.org | Clatskanie | 252.81 | Financial services and banking |
83 | NR | Marmoset LLC marmosetmusic.com | Portland | 252.80 | Boutique music agency |
84 | NR | Conservation Services Group csgrp.com | Portland | 252.70 | Energy-efficiency and clean-energy programs |
85 | 47 | King Estate Winery kingestate.com | Eugene | 252.55 | Wine producer and restaurant |
86 | 98 | Hartmann&Forbes Inc. hfshades.com | Tualatin | 251.73 | Maker of window and wall coverings |
87 | NR | Otak Inc. otak.com | Portland | 251.60 | Architecture and design firm |
88 | NR | Mt. Ashland Association mtashland.com | Ashland | 251.40 | Alpine recreation and ski instruction |
89 | 82 | Carr Auto Group carrauto.com | Beaverton | 251.20 | Automotive sales and service |
90 | 180 | EasyStreet Online Services easystreet.com | Beaverton | 251.09 | Managed and hosted IT services |
91 | 39 | CLEAResult clearesult.com | Portland | 250.97 | Designs, manages and implements energy programs |
92 | NR | Classique Floors classiquefloors.com | Portland | 250.79 | Floor-covering contractor |
93 | 22 | Aim High Academy of Martial Arts aimhighma.org | Beaverton | 250.74 | Martial-arts instruction |
94 | NR | Hydro International hydro-int.com | Hillsboro | 249.08 | Manufacturer of water and wastewater treatment equipment |
95 | 30 | DeSantis Landscapes desantislandscapes.com | Salem | 249.07 | Landscape maintenance and construction |
95 | 121 | So Delicious Dairy Free sodeliciousdairyfree.com | Springfield | 249.07 | Manufactures nondairy food products |
97 | 110 | Northwest Newborn Specialists PC nwnewborn.com | Portland | 248.97 | Physician group focused on newborn care |
98 | 44 | Mercy Corps mercycorps.org | Portland | 248.06 | International community development and emergency relief services |
99 | NR | HealthCo Information Systems Inc. healthcosystems.com | Tualatin | 246.68 | Provides software to the medical industry |
100 | 45 | Consumer Cellular consumercellular.com | Portland | 246.62 | Wireless service provider |
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