Since we started in 1991, Sustainable Seattle (S2) has gone through many changes and evolutions in response to the changing needs of Seattle and our region, as well as in response to the development of the sustainability movement in general. In the 1990s S2 was at the forefront of defining sustainability with its groundbreaking work on city and regional indicators and systems thinking. The original founders of S2 had a clear vision of what kind of information was needed to move the city and region forward towards a more sustainable future and that it would require systems thinking and planning to act on that information. Their creativity, energy, and innovative ideas are still referenced today as a formative spark in the sustainability movement. Many cities around the world continue to look to S2 as a resource and mentor as they develop their own indicators and efforts toward sustainability.

After a lot of soul searching in the autumn of 2008 (and a lot of meetings), Sustainable Seattle has decided to both innovate our work on indicators and systems thinking, as well as move toward new projects and programs that promise to define the frontiers of sustainability once again. The transformation process that we emerged from in the autumn of 2008 has resulted in a new phase of S2 that we’ve lovingly started referring to as ‘Sustainable Seattle 3.0’. As part of Sustainable Seattle 3.0, we have organized our work into three focus areas: “Emerging People, Projects, and Ideas”, “Community Connections”, and “Indicators into Actions” that each have a clear goal, strategy, and suite of programs and resources that help achieve the focus area goal.

Below you will find an outline of our programs. You can find out more information on projects and programs in each focus area by clicking on the tabs on the left sidebar.

Emerging People, Projects, and Ideas

Goal: Develop innovative people, projects, and ideas around cutting-edge sustainability  

Strategy: Offer individual and community education, training, and development opportunities

Programs & Projects:
Leadership Lab
Seattle Fast Future
-- Imagine Tomorrow Competition
Sustainability Education
-- Choose to Change Workshops
-- Sustainable Design Lab
Fiscal Sponsorships
-- Sustainable Cascadia
-- Climate Dialogs
-- Experience Food Project

Community Connections

Goal: Build a network of diverse sustainabiltiy practitioners to address challenges, opportunities, and share successes

Strategy: connect and convene diverse practitioners, provide networking and support opportunities, and inspire practitioners to lead change

Programs & Projects:
Celebrate Local
Legacy Awards
Peer Alliance for Leadership in Sustainability (PALS)
Sustainable Cities
-- SCALLOPS Partnership
-- SCAN blog
-- Sustainable Sister Cities
Sustainability Summits
Synergy Blog
Sustainability in Arts & Culture
Urban Sustainability Center

Indicators Into Actions

Goal: Turn the abundance of neighborhood, city, and regional indicators into actionable agendas

Strategy: Increase awareness on key issues, bring meaning and context to indicators, serve as a catalyst to stimulate action on indicators

Programs & Projects:
B-Sustainable Website
Neighborhood Indicators
Communities Count Partnership