Founded in 1869, the City of Seattle is located in the State of Washington on Puget Sound, 113 miles from the US-Canadian border.

Surrounded by mountains and water, and nationally recognized as one of the most livable cities in the US, Seattle is a commercial, cultural and advanced technology hub of the US Pacific Northwest and a major port city for trans-Pacific and European travel and trade.

On February 16, 2005, the day the Kyoto Protocol went into effect for
141 nations around the world, but not in the US, Seattle’s Mayor Greg Nickels launched the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, challenging mayors across the country to join with Seattle in pledging to reduce carbon emissions 7 percent below 1990. At the time of publishing, nearly 700 cities have signed the agreement, representing one quarter of the US
population: Americans like you who live in communities that have decided to make a difference for the future of our planet. Seattle’s strong history of environmental leadership includes the first ever net zero emissions public utility, more green buildings than any other city in the nation, and release of one of the first local government Climate Action Plans, actions which have cumulatively helped us to reduce city government GHG emissions by 60%.