Leaders in Sustainability Gold Award

The City just received Clackamas County Leaders in Sustainability certification for our five main City buildings! Four locations – City Hall, the Public Library, the Adult Community Center, and the Police Station – have achieved the highest certification level, Gold. The Operations building earned Silver certification.

Certified Leaders in Sustainability must demonstrate a wide range of green practices in areas like waste prevention, recycling, energy efficiency, water conservation, responsible handling of hazardous materials, social equity, community giveback, and others. Gold certification requires at least 55 unique green practices, and Silver requires 35.

All five locations took their own paths to certification: The police station is a LEED Silver green building and earned extra points for building features, for example, while the library and adult community center earned extra points for being community hubs. But most practices checked off were consistent across all five applications: practices like purchasing renewable power, lighting upgrades, recycling beyond the basics, waste prevention strategies, green purchasing standards, and a lot more.

This achievement would not have been possible without the ceaseless commitment over many years of the West Linn community, often spearheaded by the efforts of the Sustainability Advisory Board--such as the City's purchasing of renewable power and the development of the Sustainability Plan. Despite many obstacles and competing priorities, they never gave up, and have continued to recommend certification since 2015. 

To achieve this at one location takes work, but to achieve it at five locations requires support and direction from leadership, plus buy-in and commitment from staff. It shapes the City’s overall direction as well as the day-to-day work of its employees. Importantly, it also demonstrates to residents that the City operates in ways that are at once efficient and beneficial to future generations.