Regional Indicators

In December 2004, Sustainable Seattle resumed the process of selecting and producing Indicators of Sustainable Community through an inclusive participatory process.  Previous reports were released in 1993, 1995 and 1998.  The new 2005 indicators will be the first step in the process of developing and implementing a set of actions to move the King County area toward a sustainable future.  The Regional Sustainability Indicators Commons is scheduled for completion by the end of 2007.

 

Local Food Economy Project

This project expands on earlier studies of the economic impact of local spending.  These studies found that locally directed spending contributes as much as two to three times more to a community’s income than spending at non-local businesses. 

The research involves using local multipliers to describe the resource (money) flows and economic linkages of food-related businesses.  Local multipliers measure the impact of local spending on a community’s income.  A model of a relationship-based food economy emerges from the study.  The model says that the larger the local multiplier, the more dollars circulating locally, the greater the number of economic linkages and the greater their strength.  More and stronger linkages suggest a healthier, more diverse and resilient local economy. 

Sustainable Urban Neighborhood Initiative (SUNI)

In July 2003, Sustainable Seattle received a four-year grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to work with select Seattle neighborhoods to develop quality of life and sustainability indicators at the neighborhood scale. To this end, Sustainable Seattle staff collaborates with the University of Washington, the City of Seattle, and community groups to gather data that matter to citizens within the borders of their neighborhoods. These data track neighborhood concerns such as graffiti, abandoned buildings, or sidewalk problems as well as neighborhood strengths such as great gathering places, accessible open space, or historic buildings.  In addition to collecting data, Sustainable Seattle helps facilitate dialogue and action to improve neighborhod health and sustainability.  The 10 neighborhoods participating in the SUNI program are Admiral, E Ballard, North Beacon Hill, Capitol Hill, Columbia City, Greenwood-Phinney Ridge, the International District and Lake City, Uptown, and Wallingford.

Sustainability Awards

Sustainable Seattle has launched an annual Sustainable Community Outstanding Leadership Awards to recognize the sustainability achievements of organizations in our community. These awards are presented to organizations, individuals, businesses and government agencies in recognition of their contributions to sustainable development in the Puget Sound region.

Sustainability Education

Sustainable Seattle provides education on sustainability to adults and school children, through workshops and other programs.  Sustainable Seattle has offered its recent workshop "Putting Sustainability Into Action" to over a thousand Middle- and High-School student and has awarded mini-grants.  Currently, Sustainable Seattle is offering a program geared for youth to reduce waste, recycle, and learn smart consumption behavior called Choose to Change. 


Sustainable Seattle also offers workshops for individuals seeking knowledge on issues of sustainability.  Recently, Sustainable Seattle offered a workshop called Aligning your Career with Sustainability, which successully provided those interested in careers in sustainability, useful methods for achieving this goal. 

Recent Programs

In 2003, during the first ever I Buy Different scavenger hunt, Seattle youth found that they can make a difference even while shopping. They searched the mall and found environmentally friendly products ranging from better light bulbs to cool organic T-shirts.