Office of Sustainability & Environment

CREATING A WORLD CLASS SUSTAINABLE CITY

The Office of Sustainability & Environment (OSE) collaborates with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders to develop innovative environmental solutions that foster equity, vibrant communities, and shared prosperity. Information on OSE's work--as well as Seattle's citywide environmental programs--is also included in this site.

NEW OSE UPDATES

Seattle Climate Preparedness Strategy - Accepting Public Comments through January 6

While we must continue to reduce our climate pollution, we have already begun to experience impacts of our changing climate. Additionally, slow progress in reducing future pollution means that additional climate change will exacerbate the impacts communities are already experiencing.

The Seattle Climate Preparedness Strategy is the City's overarching plan for how we will prioritize investments and actions in order to ensure our economy, public health, and built infrastructure remain strong in the midst of a changing climate. Send comments to Tracy Morgenstern.

The Office of Sustainability and Environment delivers cutting-edge policies and effective programs to address Seattle's environmental challenges while creating vibrant communities and building shared prosperity. Visit the Key Initiatives page to see a list of all the program focus areas for our office.

More examples for each area below can be found in our 2013 Accomplishments Report.

BREAK NEW GROUND

We develop and test forward-looking approaches. For example, following three years of focused effort by OSE, Seattle is poised to be one of the first cities in the United States to develop a district energy system that uses waste heat from sewer lines and data centers to heat buildings.

CREATE MEASURABLE IMPACT

We deliver measurable results that advance the City's environmental goals. For example, OSE worked with its partners to launch the second year of Fresh Bucks, a program that doubles the purchasing power of low-income residents at Seattle farmers markets. In its second year, Fresh Bucks helped more than 2,500 low-income residents buy healthy produce at Seattle farmers markets.

CHART A PATH FORWARD

We create bold and strategic action plans for achieving Seattle's environmental goals. OSE worked closely with Seattle Public Utilities to develop and adopt Seattle's first community-wide implementation goal for green stormwater infrastructure: managing 700 million gallons of stormwater runoff annually with green infrastructure by the year 2025.

Mayor Murray launched the Equity & Environment Initiative (EEI) on Earth Day in 2015.

The EEI is a partnership of the City, the community, local and national foundations. The EEI is an ongoing commitment to "look under the hood" to understand who is and is not benefiting from Seattle's environmental progress with a focus on lifting up community based solutions and creating opportunities for communities of color, immigrants, refugees, people with low-incomes and limited-English proficiency individuals to be leaders in Seattle's environmental movement.

The EEI is part of the Office of Sustainability & Environment's work plan and was created in partnership with the Environmental Justice and Service Equity Division of Seattle Public Utilities.

On Earth Day on 2016, Mayor Murray released Seattle's first ever Equity & Environment Agenda, a blueprint to advance race and social justice in Seattle's environmental work.