Seattle has a long-standing commitment to its urban trees. Because of the many environmental, social, and economic benefits these trees provide, they are essential to enhancing the community’s quality of life, especially as Seattle grows. The collective impact is significant: Seattle’s urban forest removes 725 metric tons of pollution from the… [ Keep reading ]
This week, Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE) 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… [ Keep reading ]
OSE and the City’s capital departments are working to shrink our energy use and reduce GHG emissions in City-owned facilities. Seattle’s Resource Conservation Management work is a fairly technical body of work but absolutely critical in terms of leading the way to meeting the Citywide goal for an 82% reduction… [ Keep reading ]
To help prepare energy service providers and on-site building operators for the new Seattle Building Tune-Ups mandate, the Seattle Office of Sustainability and the Environment has partnered with the Northwest Energy Efficiency Council (NEEC) to offer a Building Operator Certification Course Level II this spring. The training BEGINS MARCH… [ Keep reading ]
The Office of Sustainability & Environment is pleased to again be sponsoring and serving on the host committee for our region’s 2nd annual day-long Green Infrastructure Summit, taking place on Thursday, February 16th at the Mountaineers Club. The Summit, convened by Stewardship Partners, will bring together thought leaders from government,… [ Keep reading ]
OSE is pleased to issue OSE Director’s Rule 2016-01 which implements the Seattle Building Tune-Ups Ordinance adopted in March 2016. The Director’s Rule further explains the Tune-Ups requirement, and is the result of more than a year of collaboration with stakeholders to make this new policy clear and workable, with a… [ Keep reading ]
Mayor Ed Murray recently signed an Executive Order that signals the next step in the Drive Clean Seattle Initiative. The Executive Order directs City departments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a three-pronged approach: buying the greenest vehicles, electrifying the fleet and using other renewable fuels, and prohibiting idling. The… [ Keep reading ]
In April 2016, Mayor Murray released the Equity & Environment Agenda—a roadmap for advancing race and social justice in the environmental movement. The Agenda was developed in partnership with the multi-ethnic, multi-racial Community Partners Steering Committee (CPSC) and over 1000 Seattle residents participated in conversations and activities that contributed to… [ Keep reading ]
As the Emerald City, Seattle has long been known as a champion for all things “green”. It’s a reputation we take pride in and one we are diligent in upholding. There are 8 (yes 8!) City departments engaged in Seattle’s urban forestry work. Each department brings different sets of expertise,… [ Keep reading ]
This week, OSE released a proposed Building Tune-Up Director’s Rule for public comment. For over a year, OSE has been sharing updates about our progress developing a program for periodic tune-ups on large commercial buildings. To date, the City has adopted an ordinance, formed a technical working group, and hosted… [ Keep reading ]
