MAY 2017

Hello Friends and Partners...
Last week, Mayor Ed Murray announced that he will serve out the remainder of his term and committed to continuing the work of making Seattle a more equitable and resilient city. Under Mayor Murray's leadership, OSE launched the Equity & Environment Initiative, Drive Clean Seattle, an expansion of the Fresh Bucks program, the building energy tune-ups program, and Seattle's resilience strategy efforts to name just a few of our recent key accomplishments. We still have important work to do and Mayor Murray is committed to our aggressive pursuit of climate solutions. We will continue this work because that is what is best for our city, our nation, and our planet. As always, we are deeply appreciative of the support and collaboration of the Mayor, the City Council, and our community partners in this work. 
 
  
Jessica Finn Coven, Director
Office of Sustainability & Environment 
KEY SUSTAINBILITY UPDATES
Seattle Releases Moving the Needle - Seattle's Environmental Progress Report
On Earth Day, the Office of Sustainability & Environment released Seattle's environmental progress report, Moving the Needle, showing more Seattleites are riding transit, buying from local farmers, conserving more energy and cutting the amount of waste going to landfills.  More info on Seattle's Environmental progress is here. 
King Conservation District Grants Available for Seattle Groups - Deadline June 1
The 2017 King Conservation District (KCD)-Seattle Community Partnership Grant Program aims to advance natural resource priorities along with the goals of the City of Seattle's Equity and Environment Agenda. Community groups are encouraged to apply for projects that meet at least one goal of the Equity & Environment Agenda and improve Seattle's natural resources through direct improvements, education and outreach, pilot or demonstration projects, or capacity building. Letters of Intent (LOI) must be submitted through the online grant portal and are due Thursday, June 1. Application guidelines are here. 
Seattle Building Performance Data Now Online
OSE has released 2015 building energy performance data for over 3,300 properties reporting data through Seattle's Energy Benchmarking program. Overall, the data is showing an increase in building energy efficiency and drop in energy consumption. As Seattle aims to lead the nation in fighting climate change, the city is making data publicly available to create a long-term market demand for energy efficient buildings, protect tenant interests, and reward high performers. More info here. 
Seattle Releases Canopy Cover Study 
Canopy cover is the percent of the city that's covered by trees, as seen in an aerial view. Canopy cover is an important tool for the City to understand the extent and distribution of trees in Seattle. Seattle's goal, established in 2007, is to reach 30% canopy cover by 2037.  Seattle's most recent canopy cover study, using data from 2016, found that 28% of Seattle is covered with trees. Additional findings include:
  • The majority of our urban trees are found in two locations: residential areas and in the right-of-way which is interspersed throughout the city.
  • Canopy exceeds targets in developed parks, natural areas, multi-family, and institutional areas; is close to target in single-family, downtown, and commercial areas; and is below target in industrial areas.
  • Census tracts where the population tends to be residents of color and people with low incomes also have lower amounts of tree canopy.
More information on the study results is here. 



The Office of Sustainability & Environment collaborates with a wide range of stakeholders to develop innovative environmental solutions that foster equitable, vibrant communities and shared prosperity.