Collaborations that help our partners reach their goals.
Our collaborations with environmental partners across the Pacific Northwest include financial and hands-on support. Company-wide, our employees share a commitment to a range of environmental issues, from climate change to state park preservation. The end goal: creating a sustainable future for the next generation.
Our partnerships change annually. Here's who we're working with right now.
Environmental program of focus
Oregon Bee Project
The Oregon Bee Project is a volunteer initiative based at Oregon State University that focuses on creating a comprehensive and publicly accessible inventory of the state’s 700+ species of wild bees. Volunteer melittologists (i.e., the fancy term for those who study bees) also meticulously document what flowers each bee visits, resulting in an immensely useful database of plants.
Energy-efficiency partners
Energy Trust of Oregon
Energy Trust is an independent nonprofit organization that helps utility customers save energy and enjoy the benefits of doing so. Their work keeps energy costs low, creates jobs, and builds a sustainable energy future.
NW Natural works closely with Energy Trust to bring energy-efficiency programs and services to customers in Oregon and SW Washington. For example, cash incentives help make high-efficiency natural gas equipment and other energy-saving improvements more affordable. Our customers pay a public purpose charge to make these services, programs and cash incentives possible.
Employee initiatives
Ecochallenge.org
Ecochallenge.org is a platform to educate, entertain, and engage participants on ways to drive sustainable habits at home and work.
NW Natural's Sustainability and Equity Engagement Committee participates in various Ecochallenge programs during the year, helping show how individual actions can create a significant impact for a better shared future.
Collective Action Partnerships
Collective Action
Natural Gas Supply CollaborativeNW Natural is a founding member of the Natural Gas Supply Collaborative (NGSC), a voluntary collaborative of natural gas purchasers that are promoting safe and responsible practices for natural gas supply. This group works to encourage transparency and disclosure from companies in the natural gas production sector to enable concerned companies like NW Natural to make the most informed purchasing decisions possible
Downstream Natural Gas Initiative
NW Natural is an active member of the Downstream Natural Gas Initiative (DSI), a group of leading natural gas utilities collaborating to build a shared vision for the role of utilities and the gas distribution network in the transition to a low-carbon future. DSI is focused on opportunities to leverage the existing infrastructure to support near- and long-term environmental and economic goals, and to address key technical and regulatory challenges related to these goals and opportunities.
These goals include advancing a long-term vision and related strategies for the role of natural gas distribution utilities in reducing GHG emissions and increasing support for and awareness of near-term opportunities related to renewable natural gas and longer-term opportunities related to hydrogen and power-to-gas among other important work areas.
ONE Future
NW Natural is a member and holds a seat on the board of the ONE Future Coalition. ONE Future is a group of natural gas companies working together to voluntarily reduce methane emissions across the natural gas supply chain, with a goal to lower emissions to 1% by 2025. This unique and growing coalition of leading companies have recognized that prudent development and operations in every portion of the natural gas sector are vital to ensuring the industry can support the energy needs of the nation and the world in a sustainable manner, even in a low carbon economy.