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<br />The City of Eugene actively supports the <br />efforts of the Northwest Energy Education <br />Institute at Lane Community College to <br />establish and maintain a website that <br />will serve as a clearinghouse of <br />sustainability information for the <br />entire community. <br />The City of Eugene convenes a partnership <br />with local farmers and agricultural <br />organizations such as the Oregon State <br />University Extension Service to identify and <br />implement mechanisms to expand <br />production of local organic food and raw <br />material for food processing enterprises. <br />When appropriate, the City of Eugene <br />convenes capital improvement partnerships <br />for large projects such as new hospitals or <br />sports arenas, with the goal of making those <br />projects more sustainable from the <br />inception. Groups such as the Ecological <br />Design Center at the UO, the local chapter <br />of the Cascadia Green Building Council, <br />and others could be asked to participate in <br />such partnerships. <br /> <br />C: RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE LOCAL <br />PRIVATE SECTOR AND NON-PROFITS <br />The Task Force offers the following suggestions <br />to the CEOs and board of directors of private <br />companies and non-profit organizations. <br />1. Design a Flan to help All Local <br />Businesses Apply or I±;xpaird <br />sustainability Measures <br />SBI research found that local companies <br />have found numerous competitive advantages <br />through the use of sustainability measures. In <br />addition, we found that few local companies <br />use a comprehensive suite of practices. We <br />recommend that the Eugene Chamber of <br />Commerce, local trade associations, and <br />other organizations that support business <br />development consider joining with the City <br />of Eugene and others to implement strategies <br />to help all interested local firms learn <br />about the business benefits of sustainability <br />and the practices that produce. them. We <br />recommend that companies not currently <br />using sustainability measures. be encouraged <br />to adopt them and those already employing <br />the measures be encouraged to adopt a more <br />comprehensive suite. <br />Z. Cornmit to L;xpa.nd.ing Sustainable <br />Business Clusters <br />We recommend that the Lane Metro <br />Partnership, Eugene Chamber of Commerce, <br />as well as agencies such as the Lane <br />Workforce Partnership, Oregon Department <br />of Community and Economic Development, <br />City of Eugene, Lane Economic Committee, <br />Lane County Standing Economic Committee, <br />and other economic developmenk agencies <br />form a partnership with the goal of growing <br />the sustainability clusters identified by the SBI <br />and others that may emerge in the future. This <br />focus should add to and complement ongoing <br />economic development activities. <br />As part of this focus, we suggest that the <br />agencies proactively seek out and help <br />organize and support the growth of entire <br />sectors rather than just individual firms that <br />may request assistance. In addition, when <br />possible, we recommend that the entities <br />described above seek to: <br />e Identify specific actions to retain and grow <br />the clusters by identifying common <br />problems and helping the industry <br />develop solutions that benefit everyone. <br />A special emphasis could be placed on <br />improving fundamental business skills and <br />encouraging businesses within each <br />cluster to communicate among themselves <br />and with other industry clusters. <br />%S <br />