FACT SHEET:
Seattle's Reputation Is Green and Growing
Major Milestones, Progress and Environmental Initiatives

Seattle Rallies Support for the Kyoto Protocol

While the United States rejected participation in the Kyoto Protocol, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels pioneered an effort to encourage city governments around the nation to embrace the new standards. Mayor Nickels’ plan, called the U.S. Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement, encourages other mayors to pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions seven percent from 1990 levels by 2012, as Seattle has pledged to do. Today, more than 800 mayors representing more than 74 million Americans have followed Seattle’s lead. The Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty regarding climate change, assigns mandatory limitations of the emission of greenhouse gases to the 150+ signatory nations.

To keep Seattle's pledge, Mayor Nickels assembled the Green Ribbon Commission, a group of 18 leaders from Seattle’s business, labor, non-profit, government and academic communities. The commission’s report suggested actions and changes in policy that would allow the city to meet its obligations regarding the Kyoto Protocol.

The commission’s recommendations form the basis of the mayor’s Climate Action Plan, a “greenprint” that encompasses pollution reduction, eco-friendly transit options, improved waste management, widespread biofuel use and reduced energy use by homes and businesses.

Seattle Climate Action Now

In September 2007, Mayor Greg Nickels launched Seattle Climate Action Now, an unprecedented effort to encourage residents, businesses and neighborhood groups to take steps to reduce climate pollution at home, at work and on the road. Seattle Climate Action Now is led by the City of Seattle, with help from more than 80 community partners, including Starbucks and the Cascade Bicycle Club.

For businesses, the City organized the Seattle Climate Partnership, a voluntary pact among employers to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions. Now boasting 51 members, the partnership developed a Web site and resource guide, organized quarterly technical workshops and provided one-on-one assistance to businesses.

Seattle City Light: Nation’s First "Zero-Sum Emissions" Utility

Through a network of partnerships and purchases of emission offsets, Seattle City Light became the first and only large electric utility in the country to effectively eliminate its contribution of harmful greenhouse gas emissions. As part of Seattle’s dedication to observe the Kyoto Protocol, City Light partnered with local organizations to reduce emissions from local buses, ferries and cruise ships.

Also, approximately half of Seattle City Light’s electricity comes from hydroelectric power produced by projects on the Skagit and Pend Oreille Rivers.

Additionally, Seattle City Light lets customers purchase renewable energy, or "green power," as their home or business' source of power through the GreenUp program. By voluntarily adding a premium onto their electricity bill, Seattle City Light provides the customer with power from a sustainable source, such as the Stateline Wind Project in southeastern Washington.

Biodiesel Fuels Seattle

Made from biological sources such as vegetable oil and algae, biodiesel is a renewable fuel that can run in any diesel-burning engine. Often blended with conventional diesel, biodiesel also reduces vehicle emissions by approximately 30 percent. Seattle is at the forefront of the biodiesel movement, with the following organizations participating:

• King County Metro – More than 300 Metro buses are using a blend of five percent biodiesel with 95 percent Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD).
• Washington State Ferries - Three boats used a fuel blend of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent low sulfur petroleum diesel (B20) in a pilot test.
• Seattle's Department of Fleets and Facilities – This department that oversees the city’s facilities and vehicles owns approximately 300 trucks that run on 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent ultra low sulfur diesel. It also owns more than 200 alternative fuel/advanced technology vehicles, 90 Toyota Prius hybrid cars and 15 Segway personal transporters.
• Rabanco (through Seattle Public Utilities) - garbage trucks are now using 20 percent biodiesel fuel.

King County Metro Transit

In 2005, King County Metro Transit was awarded the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Excellence Award for its hybrid bus program. The hybrid buses used by Metro Transit reduce emissions by relying on electric power in the city and switching to diesel power only in outlying areas.

In 2004, Metro Transit was similarly recognized as a National Clean Bus Leader by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute for their progress with the hybrid bus system.

On its goal toward becoming "greenhouse gas neutral," the 236-coach hybrid fleet is supplemented by a 150-coach trolley fleet which relies solely on electric power. Carrying approximately a quarter of the system’s yearly ridership, these electric vehicles combined to travel nearly 3 million miles in 2006.

Green Seattle Guide: 101 Actions for a Healthy Urban Environment

In conjunction with the PBS environmental program Eden’s Lost and Found, the Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment has produced a guide that includes 101 “eco-actions” that encourage citizens to contribute to the health of Seattle’s urban ecosystem. From suggestions for the home and garden to eco-friendly transportation tips and better shopping methods, the Green Seattle Guide provides advice for each member of the community to keep Seattle on the right track toward greenness.

Building a Greener City, One Project at a Time

Seattle pioneered a thriving green-building industry by mandating that all of its new public buildings, including the new City Hall, achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Today, Seattle is among the nation’s leaders in the number of green buildings either operating or in the pipeline. Currently, Seattle houses 31 LEED-certified buildings with an additional 134 registered by developers.

The City of Seattle Green Building Program began in 2000, working with city government projects and buildings to “greenify” them. From there, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-accredited team of green building experts expanded to provide services to private developers and designers that include incentives, technical assistance, education programs and recognition of green building projects.

In 2007, Mayor Greg Nichols Nickels introduced downtown zoning that allows developers increased height or density only if they achieve a LEED Silver rating.

BuiltGreen Tours

Seattle Architecture Foundation offers tours of some of Seattle’s first green buildings. The tours include lectures by architects, engineers, project managers and developers of these structures, as well as information about sustainable building certifications such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and BuiltGreen. The tours cost $10 in advance per person and are offered for different green structures around the city.

Seattle Green Map Project

A group of Seattle volunteers has created a map that references the city’s sustainable resources and other noteworthy green locations. Included on the map are green businesses, alternative transportation options, cultural centers, recreation, public art, ecological restoration sites, recycling centers and more. Another feature of the map allows users to see what percentage of people drove alone to work in each part of the city, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The website features both interactive and printable Seattle Green Maps.

Seattle Puts Its Money Where Its Mouth Is

The Sustainable Purchasing Program requires Seattle city government to consider factors such as pollution, waste generation, energy consumption, recycled material content and potential impact on health and nature when making all purchases on behalf of the city. This allows the city to pursue more contracts with local businesses, small- and minority-owned businesses and companies with responsible environmental practices.

First Green Hotel to Open in Seattle

Opening December 2008, Hyatt at Olive 8 will be the first hotel in Seattle to meet the standards set forth by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and feature environmentally sustainable architecture and interior design. A state-of-the-art digital education center will be located in the hotel lobby to further inform guests about the hotel’s LEED certification and green practices.

Turning Old into New

Beginning Jan. 1, 2005, business and household recycling became mandatory in the City of Seattle. Recyclable plastics, papers, cardboard and glass must be separated from regular garbage and left curbside to be collected. Enforcement, in the form of notices and noncollection of garbage, began on Jan. 2, 2006.

Affordable Housing Goes Green

The SeaGreen Guide is a resource for affordable housing owners, developers and building designers that provides guidance for constructing affordable housing projects using sustainable materials and building practices. The guide is produced by the Seattle Office of Housing and offers the builders of affordable housing a detailed checklist with ways to conserve energy, improve health and indoor air quality, increase materials efficiency and enhance their site planning efforts.

A Partnership for a Green Seattle

The Green Seattle Partnership is a group dedicated to the health and sustainability of Seattle’s forested parklands. Through its work and partnerships, it hopes to restore and remove invasive species of plants from 2,500 acres of these parklands and provide a long-term solution to ensure their continued care. Volunteers make up the backbone of this partnership and contribute 75,000 volunteering hours annually.

Earth Day Network Ranks Seattle Among the Best

Earth Day Network’s Urban Environment Report (UER) was created to score and rank 72 large cities in the United States, based on 200 factors such as toxics and waste, air quality, water quality, human and public health and global warming climate change. Seattle ranked seventh overall in the field of 72 cities and first in the category of human and public health.

Seattle is Home to Green e-Publications

Several e-zines, newsletters and online eco-information clearinghouses call Seattle home. They offer readers information about sustainable living, political activism, environmental protection and green businesses. Among them: ActionStudio
Eco Encore
Grist
OneNorthwest
Sustainable Industries Journal
Sustainable Style Foundation

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Contacts:
David Blandford - (206) 461-5806
Heather Bryant - (206) 461-5805

Updated: 12/08