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President Donald Trump, who said we can 鈥渓eave鈥� the environment during his presidency so long as we don’t hurt business, appears to have provided an unexpected shot in the arm to Portland’s green building community.

Word that could be cut has led green-focused businesses to adopt alternate strategies. Trump has already pulled the country out of the Paris Agreement, an international compact to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And in the Portland area, leaders in the green building community report renewed passion. It’s not a night-and-day difference, they say, but some see greater opportunity now than during Barack Obama’s lame-duck months.

鈥淭here’s money behind it now, and companies are not going to stop,鈥� Portland economist Robert Whelan said. 鈥淧erhaps now, because of animus, they might even increase their efforts.鈥�

Firms that build green are reporting those units lease quicker and see less turnover when a green story is pitched to tenants as part of a property’s overall value. Gerding Edlen partner Jill Sherman said federal incentives for photovoltaic arrays and electric have been helpful, but she thinks the movement can survive for the time being without them.

鈥淚 have seen people redoubling their commitment to try to do what they think is right,鈥� she said.

Some industry professionals feel that green-minded Americans, ironically, started becoming complacent with Obama, a public environmentalist, in office.

Salem architect and green building evangelist Nathan Good has dusted off his PowerPoint slides.

Before Obama’s second term as president, Good would present about a half dozen speeches a year on resilient design. But he admits he let his foot slip off the gas in the last few years.

Trump’s election showed Good, 62, it’s time to 鈥渟tep (his) game up.” Now, he’s tweaking old speeches and hopes to soon return to the 鈥渃ircuit.鈥�

鈥淭his is a call to action, especially to architects, to not rely on the federal government,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here’s a lot more that we can do.鈥�

Good believes architects have a heightened responsibility to not rely on the federal government to lead on green issues. Buildings are enormous consumers of electricity, and thus, emitters of greenhouse gases. With many buildings still powered by coal-fired powered plants, and their life spans ranging from 75 to 250 years, an architect’s potential to make an impact is enormous, Good said.

Trump has already signed executive orders rolling back ambitious emissions targets of Obama’s Clean Power Plan. But Oregon and most other states have been steadily reducing their reliance on coal as renewable energy becomes more economical.

After Trump removed the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, a dozen states (including Oregon) and more than 300 cities (including Portland) pledged to support reducing emissions at rates in line with the pact, this week.

Susan Smith, professor at Willamette University College of Law, said she’s seen states and cities stepping up to the plate to lead on green issues. She thinks other countries’ leaders are smart enough to realize his election represents our quirky system of government, not a wholesale shift in cultural values.

鈥淭rump has tarnished our reputation, but it’s given businesses the opportunity to shine a little brighter and show their principles,鈥� Smith said.

Green building principles are simply more mainstream, said Tom Kelly, owner of custom remodeler Neil Kelly and outgoing head of the Prosper Portland Commission.

鈥淚t’s just kind of in our DNA,鈥� he said.

Trump has selected appointees for environmental positions out of line with their resumes. Energy secretary Rick Perry, former governor of Texas, this week said he didn’t think carbon dioxide was a prime driver in climate change, a position that flies in the face of broad scientific consensus on the topic.

Ben Deumling works 1,300 acres of forestland for his boutique, family-run sawmill, Zena Forest Products, northwest of Salem. As a 鈥渢riple-bottom-line鈥� producer, Deumling admits he runs his green business 鈥渄ifferently.鈥�

But like other producers, Zena Forest Products has benefited from grant money for forest restoration from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Resources Conservation Service, including for fuels reduction and invasive species mitigation. Deumling heard word that that pot of money might not be around for long.

But he’s clear-eyed about his family’s role on the land.

鈥淚t is our property, and it’s always been our primary responsibility,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut it’s nice to have that money there. But ultimately, it’s something that falls to us.鈥�

After feeling energized during the Obama administration, he said he’s learned to temper his excitement with realistic expectations.

鈥淲hatever the government wants to do, I just shrug my shoulders,鈥� he said.

The world before Nov. 8 seems like a distant memory to many. Now, leaders in Portland’s green building community report seeing opportunity in adversity.

鈥淚 would agree that this has re-energized our commitment to reducing carbon emissions,鈥� said Alisa Kane, green building manager for the city of Portland.

Mayor Ted Wheeler, since taking office in January, has committed to purchasing 100 percent renewable energy, a policy extending work by previous mayors Sam Adams and Charlie Hales.

One sign that green principles have gained a foothold in public consciousness is in the proliferation of green-building certification programs aside from the popular forerunner Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. There’s net zero, passive house and the WELL Building Standard, which in particular has Kane excited.

鈥淭hey’re starting to get into managing how a building is run, which has always kind of been an X-factor,鈥� she said.

Because the Paris Agreement concerns self-determined goals and self-reported progress, the actual value of the U.S. leaving the pact is negligible. Whelan, an economist with Portland consultancy ECONorthwest, argues that it’s still bad for the U.S. to be stepping down from any kind of global leadership role.

鈥淏ut this green energy thing is not coming from the government,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s coming from developers, builders, the people who want to live in these buildings. It’s coming from, strangely, big corporations.鈥�

He cited a Budweiser solar-powered bottling plant in Brazil. Companies used to get called out for 鈥済reenwashing鈥� 鈥� that is, presenting themselves as more environmentally-friendly than they are.

Now companies practice what they preach, both out of fear of being exposed as hypocrites and also as a genuine commitment to the Earth.

鈥淲e’re well on our way to this becoming the industry we all hoped it would,鈥� Whelan said.