King County - Cities Climate Collaboration and Pledge

King County and the cities of Issaquah, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Redmond, Renton, Seattle, Shoreline, Snoqualmie, and Tukwila are collaborating through the King County-Cities Climate Collaboration — a partnership between the County and these cities to coordinate and enhance the effectiveness of local government climate and sustainability efforts.

Shoreline Mayor Keith McGlashan, Issaquah Mayor Ava Frisinger, and Kirkland Mayor Joan McBride sign the Collaboration Pledge at King County GreenTools Annual Government Confluence at Pickering Barn in September of 2011.

Through the King County-Cities Climate Collaboration, county and city staff are collaborating on:

• Outreach – to develop, refine, and utilize messaging and tools for climate change outreach to engage decision makers, other cities, and the general public
• Coordination – to adopt consistent standards, benchmarks, strategies, and overall goals related to responding to climate change
• Solutions – to share local success stories, challenges, data and products that support and enhance climate mitigation efforts by all partners
• Funding and resources to secure grant funding and other shared resource opportunities to support climate related projects and programs

All King County cities are encouraged to join into this effort, which is supporting and enhance projects and programs in focus areas such as green building, using and producing renewable energy, sustainability outreach and education, and alternative transportation.

King County-Cities Climate Collaboration – founding cities and elected officials

• King County – Executive Dow Constantine – King County Climate Change & Sustainability
• City of Issaquah – Mayor Ava Frisinger – Issaquah Sustainability Profile (308 Kb Acrobat pdf)
• City of Kirkland – Mayor Joan McBride – Kirkland Sustainability Profile (316 Kb Acrobat pdf)
• City of Mercer Island – Councilmember Mike Grady – Mercer Island Sustainability Profile (345 Kb Acrobat pdf)
• City of Redmond – Mayor John Marchione – Redmond Sustainability Profile (365 Kb Acrobat pdf)
• City of Renton – Mayor Denis Law – Renton Sustainability Profile (330 Kb Acrobat pdf)
• City of Shoreline – Mayor Keith McGlashan – Shoreline Sustainability Profile (367 Kb Acrobat pdf)
• City of Snoqualmie – Mayor Matthew R. Larson – Snoqualmie Sustainability Profile (352 Kb Acrobat pdf)
• City of Tukwila – Mayor Jim Haggerton

Current King County-Cities Climate Collaboration Work Plan – 2012 thru 2013

Examples of current activities of the Collaboration are outlined here:

1. Calendar of Trainings, Workshops, and Educational Opportunities
   • Provide city and county staff opportunities to engage in local sustainability and climate change related educational opportunities to increase the effectiveness of their jurisdiction’s efforts – *IN DEVELOPMENT*
2. Inventory of Climate & Sustainability Projects
   • Online database for Collaboration partners to access information on various sustainability related projects and programs within King County and its cities – Programs Inventory - 82KB PDF
3. Pod Trainings
   • Host three trainings in various geographic regions of King County for city staff involved in green building, sustainability and climate work to build awareness of opportunities for their jurisdiction’s knowledge base and to support their cities sustainability related projects and program - *COMPLETED*
4. Countywide Greenhouse Gas Emissions Target and Measurement Framework
   • Support work of the Growth Management Council to develop greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and associated guidance for measuring progress towards these goals - *UNDERWAY*
5. Municipal Revolving Energy Fund
   • Develop and compile locally focused guidance, case studies, recommendations, and resources to support county and city efforts to develop municipal revolving energy funds – programs that could ensure dedicated funding for energy efficiency, clean energy, or other energy reduction projects - *COMPLETED*
6. Develop Climate Change Messaging for Staff and Policy-Makers
   • Identify key messaging points that are appropriate for local government staff and policy-makers. Develop a supporting white paper on successful climate change communication messages and tactics – *IN DEVELOPMENT*
7. County & City Staff Training: Community-Based Social Marketing
   • Social marketing expert Nancy Lee will lead staff training on the principles of Community Based Social Marketing that can support municipal efforts to encourage sustainable behavior by employees and citizens - *OCTOBER 2012*
8. Researching Grant Availability
   • Research and draft submittals to various grant opportunities to direct funds to assist with the King County Cities Climate Collaboration efforts - *ONGOING*
9. Direct Engagement with Other Cities
   • Approach multiple agencies, share the work plan goals, climate collaboration concept and pledge with them with the goal to sign the pledge and join in the efforts - *ONGOING*
10. 2013 Sustainable Cities Roundtable Series
    • The Collaboration steering committee will assist with the development and implementation of the Sustainable Cities Roundtable series - *ONGOING*
11. 2013 Living Future Government Confluence Sponsorship
    • The Collaboration will participate in and support the 2013 Government Confluence as a panel or keynote - *IN DEVELOPMENT*

For more information:

• 2012 GreenTools Sustainable Cities Roundtable schedule
• Other climate change events schedule
• Archived climate change presentations
• Overview of the King County-Cities Climate Collaboration and Pledge (188 Kb Acrobat pdf)
• Press Release about the June 9th Pledge Launch

King County-Cities Climate Collaboration contacts:

Matt Kuharic, Senior Climate Change Specialist
King County Dept of Natural Resources and Parks Director's Office
206-296-8738 (office)

Nicole Sanders, Associate Planner
City of Snoqualmie Planning Department
425-888-5337 x.1143
NSanders@ci.snoqualmie.wa.us

Special thanks to former Antioch University Graduate Student Linda Lyshall. Her research helped lead to the formation of the King County-Cities Climate Collaboration. See also:

Lyshall, Linda (2011). Collaboration and Climate Action at the Local Scale. Doctoral Dissertation, Antioch University, Yellow Springs, OH. Retrieved from OhioLink Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Center.