City of Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment

The Office of Sustainability Environment (OSE) partners with the community to create strategies to help us achieve shared environmental goals and we coordinate among City departments, the Mayor's Office, and City Council to ensure successful implementation these strategies. We integrate equity by elevating opportunities to increase racial, social, and environmental justice throughout Seattle's environmental work. Our actions today determine how much climate change will impact future generations. Seattle is leading the development of climate solutions even as we also prepare our residents and businesses for the climate impacts they are likely to experience. OSE develops policies and implements programs that reduce climate pollution from our transportation and building sectors. OSE also provides guidance on how Seattle can minimize disproportionate climate impacts on our most vulnerable populations. In Seattle, like in most cities, those who shape and benefit from environmental policies and outcomes are primarily white, upper-income communities despite the fact that people of color, immigrants, refugees, and people with low incomes often bear a disproportionate burden of environmental impacts. Working at the intersection of racial equity and the environment, Seattle is advancing our understanding of who is and is not benefiting from Seattle's environmental progress. We are focusing 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. OSE is leading the City effort to shift our approach so those most affected by the combined impact of hazardous pollutant exposure, climate change, and racial-socio economic conditions will lead on designing solution and directly benefit from our investments. In order to ensure future generations in Seattle enjoy the same benefits as today's residents and businesses, it's critical to protect and enhance our natural environment, preserve and improve public health, and reduce pollution in our waterways and Puget Sound. OSE coordinates Citywide work for increasing access to local and healthy food; preserving open space and growing our tree canopy; and managing our stormwater runoff in a way that maximizes ecological and neighborhood benefits.