About Verde

Verde is an environmental justice organization. Our goal is to connect low-income and people-of-color communities to the benefits of environmental protection, particularly its economic benefits.

Everyday, Portland grows its sustainable economy, an economic development effort prioritized not solely by tree huggers or policy wonks, but by government economic development agencies, chambers of commerce, and other groups whose green interests tend more toward the dollar than the earth. In this economy, environmental efforts are an engine of economic growth, creating new job, training, and business development opportunities for the environmental entrepreneur. Unfortunately, low-income and people-of-color communities are absent from these opportunities, despite clear economic needs.

Verde's response is to create social enterprises like the Verde Native Plant Nursery, projects which employ and train low-income people while selling environmental products and services in support of Verde's tax-exempt mission.

This is not just an economic development strategy, but an environmental participation strategy based on environmental job and business creation. By addressing the community's daily economic concerns through environmental job and business opportunities, opportunities driven by environmental policies, Verde provides a more direct connection between the community and environmental protection as well as an opportunity for increased environmental awareness and engagement.