The City’s carbon footprint is directly generated from day-to-day municipal operations. It is comprised of the emissions from the electricity and natural gas used to heat and operate buildings, streetlights and traffic signals, and the fuel consumed by the City’s vehicle fleet. Carbon footprints are expressed in terms of equivalent carbon dioxide (CO₂e), which is a measurement that compares emissions of various greenhouse gases (GHGs) based on their potential to contribute to global warming. While carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the most commonly referenced GHG, there are actually many different gases that contribute to climate change in varying degrees. Learn more about climate change on the EPA's web site.

When looking at the Shoreline community’s carbon footprint, it’s important to compare the size of each sector that produces emissions. Approximately 90% of Shoreline is comprised of residential single- and multi-family homes, and 10% are businesses. As the largest sector, the residential area is responsible for 66% of the total CO₂e emitted, while the smaller commercial and industrial sector emits 34% of the CO₂e.

Even in the wet Pacific Northwest, water is a precious resource. Surface water includes lakes, rivers, creeks, the Puget Sound, and other types of water bodies that people use for recreation and provide habitat for wildlife. Surface water runoff in Shoreline drains to the Middle Puget Sound and West Lake Washington Basins, as well as Boeing, Thornton, McAleer, and Lyons Creeks. Many of these creeks are home to salmon and other fish, amphibians, and animals like beavers or otters. The quality of our surface water impacts the health of our streams and wildlife, the safety of swimming beaches, and the overall health of Lake Washington and Puget Sound. For more information, download the Surface Water Master Plan.

All plants and animals have unique requirements for their habitat or home that need to be met if they are going to thrive. Healthy habitat includes sources of food, access to water, a place to raise young, and a diverse mix of species to support the ecosystem web. Because of the complex relationships between plants and animals and the unique requirements of each species, measuring the healthy habitat requires looking at several types of indicators to get insights into the overall picture. Learn more about biodiversity in King County.

We are fortunate in the Pacific Northwest to have abundant water in our rivers, lakes and streams to support our need for drinking water, as well as for fish and wildlife. As temperatures grow warmer, our mountain snow may melt earlier in the year or precipitation may fall as rain instead of snow, reducing the available water supply to meet high demand for water in the summer. Average warmer weather or dryer summers can increase demand and the urgency to conserve water.

Shoreline’s drinking water originates in the Tolt River watershed, due east in the Cascade mountains. Two utility districts currently provide water service to the City’s residents and businesses – Seattle Public Utilities and Shoreline Water District.

Waste not only takes up space in landfills, it represents natural resources that were harvested and then not designed or used as efficiently as possible. By measuring reduction of waste in residential and commercial settings, this performance area will demonstrate the significant contributions of citizens to reduce their environmental impact. Learn more about the City's residential waste collection.

Green infrastructure is the network of natural areas, parks, urban forests, civic spaces, and rights-of-way that comprise a fabric of natural habitat throughout the City. It provides essential environmental services, such as storm water management, pollution prevention, cleaner air, erosion control, carbon storage, natural cooling for our homes, streams, and wetlands.  Although green infrastructure encompasses both built and natural environments, the indicators below measure only those elements of green infrastructure created in the built environment. 

Green buildings are intended to be more environmentally sustainable and resource efficient throughout the building's lifecycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition or deconstruction.  They can be new construction or retrofitted existing stock, commercial or residential, but common characteristics include efficient use of energy and water, improved indoor air quality, and materials that reduce waste, pollution, and environmental degradation.

Learn more about green building ideas and resources from Shoreline's Green Building Resources webpage or King County Green Tools.

Trees add beauty and wildlife habitat anywhere they grow, but that is not all they do.  They clean the air, slow down and clean surface water, prevent erosion, provide shade, and remove and store carbon from the atmosphere.  All of these environmental services provided by trees reduce the need for conventional infrastructure, such as storm drains and flood control devices.

One way to measure the abundance or absence of trees is to measure the area of the City that is covered by their branches.  When added together this total area is referred to as the tree canopy.

It is the responsibility of the City to develop and maintain a complete transportation system that allows people, goods and service providers to travel using a variety of modes, including automobiles, transit, bicycling and walking.  Poor quality or non-existent bicycle and pedestrian amenities can be a deterrent to residents walking or bicycling for transportation, connecting to transit and traveling to schools and parks, as well as for recreational purposes.  Transportation infrastructure includes streets, sidewalks, bike lanes, and trails, as well as the signage, bus stops, park and rides, and other supporting systems that make multi-modal transportation possible.  Learn more in the Transportation Master Plan.

Charged with implementing the Shoreline Environmental Sustainability Strategy, the City’s multi-departmental Green Team has taken the lead on drafting several different policy initiatives to standardize and formalize green operational practices.

The City’s values statement now includes:

Sustainability - Exemplify and encourage sustainable practices in our operations and our community.

The Green Team’s efforts also include developing Green Office Policies & Procedures, Environmentally Preferred Purchasing Guidelines, and policies to integrate environmental sustainability into City-wide decision-making processes.

Over 80% of the Sustainability Strategy’s recommendations are completed or ongoing, with only eight of the recommendations tabled for future consideration.

The City of Shoreline offers a variety of events and programs that are designed to provide educational opportunities to the community on environmental sustainability. The Environmental Services Division of the Public Works department is the lead on most of these events, which include Earth Day and recycling events.

The City’s environmental programming also includes Environmental Mini-Grants, which can be used for a wide range of neighborhood projects, including starting community gardens or habitat restoration.

Many of the programs and projects that promote environmental sustainability can be identified by the City’s “forevergreen” logo. 

The City is currently preparing content for this performance area.  Check back soon for more information.