Become a Leader in Sustainability

• Be located in Clackamas County
• Comply with all applicable environmental ordinances and regulations, such as:
  • business recycling requirements
  • proper disposal/recycling of paints and electronics
  • food scraps collection requirements (only for food-related businesses)
  • Oregon environmental laws banning single-use plastic bags and providing straws by request only​​​​​​​

All certification levels require a Leader in Sustainability to:

• Meet basic eligibility requirements above
• Complete at least 1 practice in each of sections I-IX (pp. 2-6)
• Identify a new sustainability goal on p. 7
• Formalize the finished list of practices as official policies (see p. 7)

...and complete a minimum number of overall practices:

• 1-39 employees on staff:
  • Certified: Complete at least 15 total practices
  • Silver: Complete at least 30 total practices
  • Gold: Complete at least 45 total practices
• 40 or more employees:
  • Certified: Complete at least 20 total practices
  • Silver: Complete at least 40 total practices
  • Gold: Complete at least 60 total practices

Some corporations with fewer than 40 employees on site locally will need to reach the numbers of practices required of companies with 40 or more employees. This is to account for corporate-level policies, managed by corporate staff elsewhere, that help the location achieve certification.

Employee count dictates the numbers of practices required because some practices on this application are not feasible for smaller organizations. Larger organizations have larger environmental impacts but also larger budgets – and therefore have both the responsibility and the opportunity to do more.

Certification is valid for 3 years. Program criteria are regularly reviewed and updated to ensure standards are consistent with the latest best practices. Recertification is subject to the most current criteria. The last update was completed in January 2021.