Climate Action Plan

The Port of Vancouver USA is dedicated to the health of the economy, our community and the environment. For over 15 years, we have been working on sustainability initiatives through our WE CAN! Sustainability Program. We are always looking for ways to improve and do more.

Under the direction of the Port Commissioners and following a robust stakeholder engagement process, the port finalized a Climate Action Plan as a key strategy in our 2018 Strategic Plan to achieve the port’s environmental goals. This Climate Action Plan provides the Commissioners and port staff with a menu of different actions that the port will take over the coming years to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and ultimately achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Thank you to everyone who provided feedback, shared ideas and supported us through this process.

Emissions Reduction Progress

As of 2022, the port has made substantial progress towards its climate action commitments. Since finalizing the Climate Action Plan, the port has implemented several measures to reduce emissions, as summarized below.

Measuring GHG Emissions

There are three standardized ways of measuring GHG emissions:

• Scope 1: Direct emissions from sources owned and controlled by the port.
• Scope 2: Indirect emissions from purchased energy for facilities the port owns and purchases electricity for.
• Scope 3: Indirect emissions from the port’s tenants, suppliers, and other aspects of its value chain. These emissions are out of the port’s direct control.

Emissions from Port-owned and Controlled Activities (Scope 1 & 2)

The following table highlights the progress the port has made towards reducing Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions since finalizing the CAP in 2021.

Scope 3 CAP Progress

Under the CAP, the port is also taking actions to support the reduction of Scope 3 emissions, those that are not a direct result of the port’s own operations, but emissions the port may influence or guide. Reduction of Scope 3 emissions requires extensive coordination with port tenants, vendors, and customers to collect the needed activity data. While not included as a measured goal, Scope 3 emissions are an important part of the CAP to reducing emissions in and around the port. The port has continued to make progress towards reducing Scope 3 emissions, including:

• To reduce commuter trips, the port offers a hybrid work protocol to those employees who can telecommute. The port also worked with C-Tran to promote its service – “The Current” – to offer on-demand shuttles to the port for the same cost as fixed-route transit, expanding bus access for those commuting to port properties.
• The port reduced emissions related to water use by integrating green infrastructure for stormwater management into their facilities and continuing to upgrade its water system.
• LED lighting was implemented in a tenant occupied port building in 2022, which included replacing 3200-watt bulbs with 560-watt LED bulbs. Evaluations for future upgrades were performed with Clark Public Utilities for three additional tenant-occupied buildings.
• The port completed HVAC upgrades for two tenant-occupied buildings in 2022, replacing a total of four natural-gas fired HVAC units with all-electric units.
• The port has added climate considerations to its Continuous Operational Assessment and Response (COAR) process to assess upcoming leases and projects. Language was added to new lease templates to include sharing energy use information from tenant-controlled buildings with the port to assist collaborations on Scope 3 emissions reduction planning.
• Shore power is utilized at Berths 13 and 14. Shore power has been designed and permitted for future use at Berth 17. The dock design at Terminal 1 allows for future addition of shore power to cruise ships.

To read the Climate Action Plan click here:

En Español

Para leer el Plan de Acción Climática en Español, haga clic aquí

Para leer el Acción Climática Preguntas Frecuentes en Español, haga clic aquí

To learn more about Climate Action Plan progress, read our 2022 Sustainability Report: 2022 Sustainability Report