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Welcome to Community Energy Project

Celebrating 30 years of serving the Portland community!

Our Mission

Community Energy Project, Inc., empowers people to maintain healthier, more livable homes, control their utility costs, and conserve natural resources.

We do this through education, hands-on training, and distribution of weatherization, water conservation, and lead poisoning prevention materials. We also provide direct weatherization and water conservation services to seniors and people with disabilities. We deliver these services in partnership with community members and service organizations, utilities, corporations, foundations, and government agencies.

Vision

We envision a future where all people can afford to live in their homes with dignity, comfort, and safety.

Our values

CEP board members, staff, and volunteers believe in the fundamental values of:

• Human dignity
  


• Mutual respect
  


• Stewardship
  


• Collaboration
  


• Empowerment through education
  


• Healthy communities
  

Statement of Inclusion

Community Energy Project values and operates by a policy of inclusion, providing equal opportunity to all persons regardless of their protected status, including race, color, creed, religion, sex, age, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, and/or any other class determined by law.

Our Philosophy

We believe that people are the experts of their own experience. By empowering people with information and tools and facilitating connections to resources, we can increase the capacity of our community to address many home environmental health, comfort, and safety issues while conserving natural resources. It is not enough for us to simply function as experts in our field; we must be equally skillful in communicating the most up-to-date conservation and environmental health information in a way that is accessible across all levels of experience, culture and languages, ages, and abilities. This same philosophy of empowerment demands that we maintain a healthy, supportive work environment. We strive to maintain the trust we’ve earned in the community and believe in being a collaborative, transparent organization.

History

CEP began life in 1979 as a project of Responsible Urban Neighborhood Technology (RUNT) in response to the oil crises of the 1970’s. A VISTA national service member offered the first workshops, teaching people things like caulking and building temporary plastic storm windows. CEP incorporated in Oregon in 1987 and became a contractor with the City of Portland’s Bureau of Housing and Community Development, offering training to low-income people through workshops and direct weatherization services to seniors and people with disabilities. Over time, we added workshops in water conservation and lead poisoning prevention. Currently, our workshops are open to people of all income levels; low-income participants receive a large bag of free small measure weatherization materials, while upper income participants may purchase materials from our small retail store.