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The U.S. Green Building Council recently released a report highlighting sustainable building policy advancements made by state legislatures in 2011.

Oregon was highlighted for its success in several areas, including the state’s budgetary support for green buildings, mandatory minimums in building codes, and investigation into ways to increase the availability of energy-consumption information.

Approved House Bills that stood out include:

• 鈥� sunsets the Business Energy Tax Credits and creates tax credits for commercial construction or retrofit projects that achieve high standards for energy efficiency
• 鈥� directs the Oregon Department of Energy to provide grants and loans to support energy efficiency or clean energy projects, including projects to weatherize, upgrade or retrofit public schools (鈥渃ool schools鈥�)

Other measures sparked discussion that the council found noteworthy, even though the bills did not pass:

• 鈥� relates to energy savings contracts
• 鈥� relates to energy disclosure for residential buildings
• 鈥� would have required energy disclosure for residential and commercial buildings

The council also acknowledged the state Building Codes Division for adopting the 2011 Oregon Reach Code, which establishes an optional set of verified 鈥済reen鈥� construction standards, based on the International Green Construction Code.