In collaboration with developer clients, GGLO has created a new communications tool for promoting sustainable development planning called an Environmental Benefits Statement (EBS). The purpose of an EBS is to articulate the wide range of economic, social and environmental benefits that can be provided by urban development.

Unfortunately, the controversy that often swirls around development proposals has a tendency to overshadow the potential benefits. Furthermore, large-scale projects typically require an Environmental Impact Statement, a document that often frames the public debate in terms of negative impacts. An EBS rebalances the discussion, generating support for development by holistically focusing appropriate attention on all there is to be gained—at the neighborhood, city-wide, and regional scales.

GGLO has tailored Environmental Benefits Statements for two very different Seattle neighborhoods: Roosevelt and South Lake Union. Roosevelt--the site of a future light rail station--is a relatively low-density residential neighborhood in which there has been resistance to the level of development appropriate for a high-capacity transit station. South Lake Union is an urban downtown neighborhood with a high concentration of jobs, for which broad upzones are being considered. These two examples illustrate the flexibility of the EBS concept to provide support for creating better communities in a wide range of settings.