Eco-roof Incentive Programme - Portland

From 2008 to 2012, the City Council of Portland, Oregon (USA) adopted an Ecoroof Incentive instrument to address the city's stormwater management problems. The incentive provided financial support to promote the installation of green roofs and innovative roofing methods to better manage and reduce annual runoff volume by 50%. The incentive was offered for property owners and developers of Portland to construct eco-roofs at a rate of €4,74/m2 ($5/ft2).By 2012, the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) at the City Council granted almost €2 million, which helped fund over 130 projects. The overarching impact of the instrument resulted in creating more than 32500 sq.m (8 acres) of eco-roofs and managing an average of 20 million liters of stormwater each year. Later in 2018, the instrument was incorporated into the Central City 2035 Plan (CC2035), under the 33.510.243 Eco-roofs Code that applies newly constructed buildings to have green building design.

Overview

Type of instrument:

Economic and fiscal instruments›Payments as rewards/for ecosystem services, subsidies, incentives

Challenges addressed

Water management (e.g. reuse)
Flood risk: pluvial and fluvial / soil permeability
Heat stress and heat island effect

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

The incentive aims to manage rain water without altering the landscape and also increased the urban green spaces. The implementation of the instrument provides multifunctional solutions for water management, energy-savings, reducing pollution and erosion in waterways, preserving fish habitats, creating new habitats for birds and insects, absorbing carbon dioxide, and cooling urban heat islands. The instrument also contributes to the broader efforts to increase the city's resilience to natural hazards, disasters, and climate change.

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Green areas for water management

External building greens

Good practice characteristics:

Effective

Support multifunctional NBS

Locally appropriate

Innovative

Inclusivity

Governance

Government body/bodies

Initiating body:

Portland Bureau of Environmental Services

Instrument design:

Details about how the instrument was designed:

The design of the incentive instrument was initiated by the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), in close collaboration with the State of Oregon, Business Energy Tax Credit (BET/C), the State of Oregon-Dept of Energy, Low-Interest Loan Program, Office of Sustainable Development, G-Rated Program, State Historic Preservation Office, Property Tax Incentive Program, and the Federal Historic Tax Credits Office. The Environmental Services worked closely with local nonprofits, community members, and elected officials in formulating the instrument. The design of the Green Building Policy in the Central City 2035 Plan (CC2035) was based on the lessons learned from the Ecoroof incentive instrument. The Portland Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), Green Roof info Think-tank (GRiT), and Portland State University shared their collective expertise in the design phase. Specifically, the GRiT includes a network of businesses, nonprofit organizations, researchers, and community members joining together to grow the knowledge and use of green roofs. The think-tank helped design the instrument by feeding citizens insights and raising awareness. In addition, the GRiT has supported the City of Portland with green roof studies, symposia, and stakeholder testimony throughout the years leading to the development of the instrument.

Involvement of non-governmental actors:

Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)

Private sector, corporate, business

Researchers, university

Citizens or community groups / NGOs

Type of actor involvement:

Co-planning or co-design of instrument (e.g. boards, advisory role)

Expert task force consultation

Civil society consultation through e.g. workshops, surveys

Advocacy and capacity building role

Instrument implementation:

Type of involvement:

The Portland Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) acts as the governing body and responsible entity for the incentive's implementation. They have collaborated with the Green Roof info Think-tank (GRiT) to provide classes, tours, events, technical assistance, and online resources for DIY eco-roofs. The think tank network also helped conduct outreach and technological development as part of the program, connect property owners to eco-roof service providers, and monitor existing eco-roofs to gather and share performance data.

Type of non-governmental actors involved:

Citizen oversight (e.g. boards, advisory role)

Implementation of NBS (e.g. with government funds)

Resource provisioning, capacity building, knowledge exchange

Targeted actors:

Private: household, real estate developer, business , financial

Researchers, university

Citizens or community groups (CBOs), NGOs

Financing

Sources of funding:

Public local authority’s budget

Budget:

1 000 000€ - 5 000 000€

Details about instrument financing:

The overarching figures on the total allocations of the instrument are almost €2 Million, which helped in funding over 130 projects. However, there are no detailed allocations able to be found based on each project and size. The direct financing sources are from the State of Portland in the form of subsidy funding.

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Is a monitoring framework in place?:

Yes

The Portland Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) is monitoring the implementation of the Eco-roof incentive program through a disseminated operation dashboard (which can be found in the weblinks). The dashboard is managed with the support of Portland State University and the Green Roof info Think-tank (GRiT). The collective monitored projects result from the incentive instrument and the Green Policy Design (3.510.243 Eco-roofs code) account for 1.40 sq. km (1.5 million sq. ft) of the sustainable roofs. The indicators cover performance in the amount of reduced annual runoff volume and the size of the eco-roof that covers the building's area.

Did an evaluation take place?:

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

The incentive had specific selection criteria. Firstly, the project should be located within Portland city boundaries; secondly, it is designed to manage stormwater; and lastly, it should be feasible and buildable within two years of receiving funds. The Portland Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) evaluated projects based on cost estimations, size, the ratio of a green roof to the total roof area, visibility, innovation, and the opportunity to engage diverse communities. As a result, the incentive instrument had positive environmental and economic implications in areas related to water management and blue areas. Moreover, the instrument improved the capacities of stormwater management, increased the green space area, and increased jobs in several aspects of the chain. The Environmental Services (BES) granted almost $2 million in incentives that helped fund over 130 projects and created more than 32500 sq.m (8 acres) of eco-roofs that manage an average of 20 million liters of stormwater annually.

Success factors and lessons learned:

The implementation of the incentive instrument encouraged the transition to taking actions on private property, especially with the already-developed buildings that can be hard to facilitate their retrofit. In addition, the instrument provided a multi-functionality solution to manage stormwater, reduce air pollution, and increase green spaces. Furthermore, the long-term policies and programs such as the Central City 2035 Plan(CC2035) secured the sustainability of the instrument objectives. The incentive instrument leveraged elements of building codes, community engagement, technical expertise, and monitoring to be successful in its implementation. The involvement of a diversity of public and private actors in the design and implementation phase can also be credited with the high uptake and acceptance of the subsidy, supported with supplementary materials, capacity building opportunities, knowledge exchange, and other opportunities.

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

Netusil, N., Lavelle, L., Dissanayake, S. and Ando, A., 2022. Valuing the public benefits of green roofs. Landscape and Urban Planning, 224, p.104426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2022.104426

Further documents

Weblinks:

https://una.city/nbs/portland/portland-ecoroofs

https://pdxedu.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=9aec6bd67d5844f9b…

https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bes/51477

https://www.adaptationclearinghouse.org/resources/case-study-city-of-portland-or…

Photos

@https://www.portland.gov/bes