Our Focus
Forging community-led solutions for nature, people, and jobs
We partner with communities throughout the Northwest on projects that promote smart water use, clean energy, and healthy forests, farms, and ranches.
Our solutions are as unique as the problems we solve and include entrepreneurship, policy, market innovations, public and private investment, collaboration, and technical assistance – but the ultimate success of our work is based on relationships, trust, and inclusion.
Sustainable Northwest was founded in 1994 to forge collaborative solutions for conserving forest and community health. Today, our challenges have multiplied with climate change, catastrophic wildfires, and persistent drought harming our region. Yet we remain optimistic that nature, people, and local economies can thrive together.
OUR MISSION
Sustainable Northwest brings people, ideas, and innovation together so that nature, local economies, and rural communities can thrive.
OUR VISION
We envision a thriving Northwest where strong communities support the healthy and productive landscapes we all depend on and cherish
OUR WORK
We believe healthy food can and should be produced in harmony with nature. Our regenerative ranching program is the largest in the West, with 120 ranchers on 7 million acres in 13 Western states. We are helping ranchers adopt climate-resilient practices, and measuring progress along the way.
We believe everyone deserves affordable, clean energy produced locally. Our clean energy program partners with rural and Tribal communities transitioning to clean energy. For example, we launched the nation's first e-tractor program for farmers and ranchers to accelerate the adoption of electric farm equipment.
Our water program focuses on balancing water use among nature, people, and local economies. Our most recent accomplishment is helping amplify Tribal voices to successfully push for removal of four outdated hydropower dams on the Klamath River.
We believe healthy, resilient forests support thriving communities. That’s why we partner with rural and Tribal communities to develop locally-led solutions that advance forest health and resilience. For example, we are helping landowners affected by the 2020 Labor Day Fires reforest using climate-resilient practices.
We believe we can improve forest and community health by constructing new homes and buildings with sustainable materials. Our wood markets team partners with rural, Tribal, and urban communities to source the wood needed for new homes and buildings from forestry projects that improve forest and climate health while supporting rural communities and economies. Our most recent accomplishment is sourcing wood for the Portland International Airport’s new main terminal from 13 different family and Tribal forests in the Northwest.