GLY is excited to join fellow sustainability leaders in supporting the evolution of Bellevue’s Environmental Stewardship Strategic Plan. The organization’s first workshop in September 2019 brought together regional and local transportation and housing authorities, educational institutions, not-for-profit advocacy groups, and prominent Bellevue-based private sector companies. The goal? Share values and build relationships towards creating alignment around strategic sustainability priorities that will create a roadmap for the future.

A City in a Park

The ultimate goal of Bellevue’s Environmental Stewardship Initiative is to create a sustainable city where today’s citizens can enjoy the highest quality of life, work, and play while preserving this legacy and opportunity for future generations.

All of us who live, work, and play in the City of Bellevue treasure its distinctive natural environment—from wetlands and parks to beaches and urban forests—that is woven into the very urban fabric of the City. Bellevue’s continued economic growth and increasingly vibrant community owe much to the benefits of these unique natural assets.

Benefits of a Sustainable City

In 2007 Bellevue strengthened its commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship by establishing the Environmental Stewardship Initiative [ESI] to provide an organization-wide framework for working toward a sustainable city that will:

• Create local jobs
• Protect + enhance natural systems
• Nurture livable, healthy communities
• Improve social equity
• Develop economic + environmental resilience
• Save money + resources

Progress to Date: Highlights

The ESI embraces a wide range of programs including energy and water conservation, green purchasing, electric and hybrid vehicle conversions, and other community efforts such as encouraging low impact development and green building. The ESI’s progress since its inception in 2007 is impressive: