“We hope that sharing the City’s results from evaluating our buildings’ energy use encourages other owners to do the same,” said Jill Simmons, Director of the Office of Sustainability & Environment. “Taking a close look at the energy performance of our facilities helps identify cost-effective opportunities to save energy and free up taxpayer resources for other important City services.”

To lead by example, City departments were directed to go beyond the minimum requirements of the energy benchmarking program and publicly disclose the City’s benchmarking results. Private owners in Seattle are required to disclose their building’s energy use with tenants, buyers, lenders and other qualified parties upon request. The City building report includes office buildings, libraries, fire and police stations, community buildings and more.

The assessment found that City-owned downtown buildings (City Hall, Justice Center, Seattle Municipal Tower, Central Library) are more energy efficient than the national average. The Seattle Municipal Tower has an EPA ENERGY STAR score of 93 out of 100 (50 is average), meaning it is more energy efficient than 92 percent of similar buildings nationwide. More than 3,000 people work at this 62-story high rise that uses about 40 percent less energy than a typical building of its size. Regularly monitoring and quick action to address in energy use helps the City keep the building performing at the top of its class. For example, continuous energy tracking led managers to reduce weekend heating and lighting when fewer people use the building.

On the whole, the City’s extensive public library system uses about 42 percent less energy than other U.S. libraries. Seattle’s libraries use about 61 kBtus (thousand British thermal units) of energy for each square foot of space, whereas U.S. libraries on average use about 104­ kBtu per square foot.

City building energy use was compared to that of similar buildings throughout the nation – information provided by the U.S. EPA’s ENERGY STAR program and the Energy Information Agency’s Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS). Private building owners can also use ENERGY STAR and CBECS data to see how their buildings stack up to others nationally.

“We applaud the City for taking a detailed assessment of the energy performance of its buildings and sharing this information with the public. Seattle 2030 District members share building energy performance within our organization allowing participants to compare results, share best practices and make our buildings perform at higher levels of efficiency. The City’s disclosure of its data is a welcome step in providing useful information from which the market can learn,” said Brian Geller, Executive Director of the Seattle 2030 District. The Seattle 2030 District is a collaboration of leading building owners and managers, including the City of Seattle, in downtown Seattle committed to significantly reducing environmental impacts within the built environment.

While this is the first time City building energy use has been made public, the City has a long history of monitoring and improving the energy efficiency of its facilities, including recent energy efficiency upgrades at 17 City facilities. One upgrade—a chiller at Seattle Center’s central plant that cools more than one million square feet of space—is projected to cut electricity use by 13 percent. This and other energy conservation efforts have saved the City and taxpayers $1.25 million since 2008.

The City is currently developing a comprehensive Resource Conservation Management Plan to build on its energy efficiency track record. The Plan will outline strategies to improve the energy efficiency of City’s building portfolio by 20 percent by 2020 (from a 2008 baseline).

As of April 1, owners of all commercial and multifamily residential buildings 20,000 square feet or larger are required to annually benchmark and report energy use to the City. Already, more than 90 percent of large building owners (50,000 square feet and above) have reported their building’s energy use. For more information on Seattle’s Energy Benchmarking and Reporting Program and free benchmarking support, visit: www.seattle.gov/energybenchmarking or call (206) 727-8484.

In Good Company Recognition Program

Mayor Mike McGinn recognized Belltown-based The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Company for their growth, creativity, and commitment to their local community on the 4th anniversary of the founding of their business.

“Small business owners are the backbone of our local economy, creating jobs and supporting our neighborhoods,” said Mayor Mike McGinn. “It’s inspiring to see the commitment that Yellow Leaf Cupcake owners Tony and Michael have to their Belltown neighborhood and local community, and the passion they bring to work every day.”

A part of the Seattle Jobs Plan, the In Good Company program is an ongoing showcase of businesses that spotlights one locally-owned business every month for being unconventional, transformative, and exemplary. There are a lot of incredible businesses in Seattle, and if your business is recognized here, you know that you’re in good company.

The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Company opened in May 2009 with just two employees, who remain the owners of the company today. Over the past four years, they have seen double digit increases each year, finding tremendous success during the strain of the economic downturn.

They specifically located their business in the Belltown neighborhood for the opportunity and potential they saw in the neighborhood, and for the impact they believed they could have on the community.

“Tony and I live and work in Belltown. We feel that giving back to our immediate community is the best way to help our community grow,” said Michael Hein, co-owner and co-founder of The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Co. “We like to think that we have been part of making our community better, and we want to see this neighborhood become the best neighborhood in Seattle.”

Their business mentality is to promote one’s own business and product, while also promoting the businesses around them, as a powerful way to influence the success of both. “We are 100% committed to keeping our ingredients local, fresh, and of the highest quality, knowing that it shows in the customer satisfaction and in everything we do,” said Tony Portugal, co-owner and co-founder of The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Co. ”We feel that we are leaders in what we do, and have introduced our guests to a sophisticated cupcake experience.”

The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Company has created well over 200 different flavors of cupcakes, including unique flavors such as pancakes n’ bacon, tomato soup, and croquembouche. They are one of the few cupcake shops in Seattle that does not mass produce its product, making everything 100% from scratch, in small batches daily.

As a ‘destination business,’ the company has attracted customers to Belltown, from local shoppers to visiting international tourists. In addition to bringing shoppers to the neighborhood, they also have a firm commitment to give back to others in their local community.“Yellow Leaf Cupcake Co. is a great example of the new entrepreneur who seeks out the right marketplace, then moves there to start their business,” said Maud Daudon, president & CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. “Michael and Tony wisely chose Seattle’s urban core as the place where they and their model for locally sourced, small batch cupcakes would thrive. We hope their story will be an inspiration to others who are turning their passion into a business.”

For nomination criteria and more information, please visit the In Good Company website page.

In Good Company is brought to you by: Mayor Mike McGinn as part of the Seattle Jobs Plan; Seattle Office of Economic Development; Seattle Channel; Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce; Flying Spot; and 206 inc.

Prize partners include: Alaska Airlines Board Room Airport Lounges; Banya 5; DRY Soda; Fran’s Chocolates; Seattle Mariners; Theo Chocolate; The Crumpet Shop; and Uber.

This Seattle Hearing will be your opportunity to testify/discuss issues regarding Federal regulatory compliance and enforcement and how you have been affected as a small business owner. The SBA’s Office of the Ombudsman’s mission is to assist small businesses when they experience excessive or unfair federal regulatory enforcement actions, such as repetitive audits or investigations, excessive fines, penalties, threats, retaliation or other unfair enforcement action by a federal agency.

The event will take place on Thursday, June 6 from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Rainier Club (820 4th Avenue, Seattle). To RSVP, contact Jose.Mendez@Seattle.gov.

The SBA’s Office of the Ombudsman also allows you to fill out a comment form on your experience working with Federal regulations. The comment form can be found here.

For more information or if you have any questions about this meeting, contact SBA Fairness Board Member Rich Gaspar at Rich@Gaspars.com

OPTIMIZE YOUR SOCIAL NETWORK

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WHAT IS AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP?

FORBES

Authenticity has been explored throughout history, from ancient Greek philosophers to the works of Shakespeare. The idea of authentic leadership has only come to the forefront of management theory in the past decades and many businesses are still not able to comprehend the meaning and application of true organizational leadership. While approaches to the topic can vary, many theorists agree with certain fundamental truths when it comes to being a leader, such as focusing on the long term, self-awareness, and being mission-driven.

•    How Seattle/King County residents define the term “local”
•    The importance of buying from locally owned businesses compared to other decision factors
•    How much more, if any, residents are willing to spend on local options
•    How attitudes differ by key demographic and psychographic factors
•    The key implications for your business

Visit the event site for more information.

Yesterday Mayor Mike McGinn announced the 2013 recipient of the 8th Annual Mayor’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film: Paul Matthaeus, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Creative Officer Emeritus of Digital Kitchen®.

“Paul’s impressive filmmaking and commercial film career, his championship of Seattle as a thriving commercial film production city, and his commitment to the local filmmaking industry make him an obvious honoree this year,” said Mayor McGinn. “I congratulate him on his work and thank him for being a leader in our local film industry.”

The Mayor’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film recognizes an individual or entity for exceptional work that has significantly contributed to the growth, advancement and reputation of Seattle as a filmmaking city. The award presented is artwork created by artist Dale Chihuly.

After spending 15 years in the ad agency business, Paul Matthaeus founded Digital Kitchen (DK) in 1995 with the mission to apply entertainment principles to brands- and in turn- branding principles to entertainment.

Not only has DK grown into a creative force that traverses entertainment and advertising- winning many accolades along the way- Matthaeus has developed the careers of countless digital artists and filmmakers, through DK’s home office in Seattle and satellites across the nation.

“Unlike most filmmakers, I’ve spent my entire life and career in Seattle,” said Matthaeus.  “This city has played a seminal role in who I am, and has defined my outlook on business and creativity.  I think to a great degree, this honor validates Seattle as a world-class creative center.”

Read more in the full press release.

TOP U.S. CITIES FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

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32 QUOTES THAT EVERY ENTREPRENEUR SHOULD LIVE BY

FORBES

Leaders of Seattle’s startup community and the city of Seattle have teamed up to launch Startup Seattle, an initiative to support the growth of the Seattle technology startup community and establish Seattle as an internationally recognized home for emerging technology companies. Today, Mayor Mike McGinn hosted a press conference to announce the group’s action plan at the downtown Seattle headquarters of Zillow, one of Seattle’s most successful startups in recent years.

“Startup companies are an important part of Seattle’s innovative local economy,” said McGinn. “That’s why we are working hard to support startup businesses that could turn in to the next Microsoft or Amazon. I thank all of our partners in this work to help support our local economy, which is growing faster than the rest of the region, state and country.”

“Economic recovery doesn’t happen all on its own and this initiative is consistent with Council’s economic recovery resolution calling for actions that make it easier to do business in Seattle,” said Councilmember Richard Conlin.

During the next year, the City plans to hire a startup business sector liaison, re-launch the resource website startupseattle.com, form partnerships with local organizations such as Code.org, Startup Weekend and Student RnD to increase access and connect high school students with local technology opportunities, and develop a marketing campaign to help attract talent to Seattle from across the country. In addition, the City will continue to support “innovation hubs” that make neighborhoods more attractive to early-stage technology companies and initiate a market assessment of real-estate needs for startups that will be used to guide new transit-oriented development in the University District.

To learn more about StartupSeattle, visit: startupseattle.com,

To read the full press release, visit: http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/press/newsdetail.asp?ID=13643