Portland, OR took another step toward securing its place as a leading hub in the outdoor apparel and footwear industry last week with it announcement that it is underwriting a grant program to help local companies advance their sustainable business practices.


The Portland Development Commission (PDC) said it partnered with Outdoor Industry Association to fund a grant program that will help local companies implement the OIA Eco Index.


In development since 2007, the Eco Index is an environmental impact assessment tool providing a common language and framework to benchmark and measure product-level sustainability throughout the supply chain. The Eco Index identifies areas for improvement and provides guidance to help companies make informed sourcing and product life cycle decisions.


The grant funding provided by PDC, which will be matched by OIA, will be used to provide individualized training and resources to several Portland-based outdoor companies to speed their implementation of the Eco Index. The funds will also support the development of tools that will allow all brands in the outdoor industry to adopt the Index.


The grant is part of the PDCs renewed focus on Portland Athletic and Outdoor Industry (A&O) business cluster, which now includes 300 firms employing 14,000 people.


The Eco Index was specifically identified by our industry leaders as an important initiative in PDCs A&O action plan, which in turn is a key element of the citys job creation strategy, said Portland Mayor Sam Adams. The Eco Index leverages the commitment, expertise and leadership of Portland area companies and our competitiveness as the hub of the industry, and were pleased to provide our support.
It is hoped that the PDC grant program will serve as a model for providing similar Eco Index implementation support to companies in other cities.


>>>> The politics on this could be interesting as industry clusters around Boulder, Seattle, Salt Lake and Boston compete for grant money.  Interesting that Outdoor Industry Association is also holding annual OIA Rendezvous event in Portland this year…