The following was taken from the City of Seattle's Department of Planning and Development website. For more information please visit http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/GreenBuilding/CapitalProjects/SeattlesPolicy/default.asp.

Adopted in February 2000, Seattle's Sustainable Building Policy was an integral part of the City's move toward sustainability. It called for new City-funded projects and renovations with over 5,000 square feet of occupied space to achieve a Silver rating using the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) LEED Green Building Rating Sytem.

Coupled with the biggest capital improvement program since the Seattle fire of 1888, the Sustainable Building Policy provided a unique leadership opportunity to create change in the building industry and the Mayor and City Council unanimously adopted it to encourage adoption of green building. The City set out to "Lead by Example," while meeting other city ogals, which included:

• demonstrating the City's commitment to environmental, economic, and social stewardship,
• yielding cost savings to the City taxpayers through reduced operating costs
• providing healthy work environments for staff and visitors, and
• contributing to the City's goals of protecting, conserving, and enhancing the region's environmental resources.

Using a national standard such as LEED helps establish minimum performance levels, creates a common dialogue for discussion, and allows Seattle to measure its building performance relative to other jurisdictions using the same system. In addition, technical rulings, training, networking and marketing support are provided by the USGBC.

Overview:

Substantial progress has been made since the City of Seattle first launced energy and water conservation programs in the 1970s. In 2000, Seattle became the first city in the nation to formally adopt a Sustainable Building Policy. Coupled with the biggest capital improvement program since the Seattle fire of 1888, the new policy provided a unique leadership opportunity to create change in the building industry. It is part of a larger Environmental Management System created by the City's Office of Sustainability and Environment.

Since 2000, City of Seattle green building experts have worked steadily to incorporate sustainability principles into the daily work of engineers, plans examiners, code developers, planners and other City staff. They have also worked with developers, architects, and private citizens to embrace green building principles in all aspects of development, from small renovations to highrises.

5-Year Report: "Building a Better City"

In 2005, we celebrated five years of green building accomplishments in our 5-Year Report: "Building a Better City".

This report documents how Seattle has grown to have one of the strongest green building markets in the nation, and how--through its Green Building Program--the City of Seattle is expected to become one of the largest single owners of LEED facilities in the world.

For the full report, please download the attached pdf.

cityofseattle.pdf