Sustainable Seattle is a non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in the Central Puget Sound. It was officially founded as a non-profit in 1991. Sustainable Seattle was the first organization to create regional indicators for sustainability. Sustainable Seattle’s indicator work influenced many cities and groups around the world and is acknowledged as a world-leader in sustainability indicators based on citizens’ values and goals for their communities. Redefining Progress (a public policy think tank) surveyed over 170 sustainability projects around the country and found that more than 90 of them used Sustainable Seattle as a model for their own initiatives.
For the first decade of its existence, it focused on creating regional sustainability indicators through grass roots activism. It also created monthly newsletters about such topics as recycling, home gardening, and building community. In its second decade, Sustainable Seattle expanded into many areas, from neighborhood data collection and Neighborhood Sustainability Scorecards, to education programs, programs for businesses and an annual competition to create a shared vision for a sustainable future in Seattle.
Sustainable Seattle is believed to be the first "Sustainable Community" organization. Today, there are over 50 "Sustainable Community" organizations in Washington and hundreds across America.