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McKinstry and Lumen Field Honor 2026 Zero+ Champions of Sustainability
Covington Water District and the cities of Seattle, Redmond and Renton recognized for advancing sustainability, reducing carbon emissions and strengthening community.
SEATTLE – [September 10, 2026] – McKinstry and Lumen Field partnered to honor Covington Water District, City of Seattle, City of Redmond and City of Renton as Zero+ Champions of Sustainability. The initial 2026 awards were presented on September 9 in a ceremony held at Lumen Field during the Seattle versus New England football game.
The Zero+ Champions of Sustainability Awards emerged from an ongoing collaboration between Lumen Field and McKinstry. The award program honors organizations for advancing sustainability, reducing carbon emissions and strengthening community resiliency. By highlighting local achievements, McKinstry and Lumen Field hope to inspire other organizations to strengthen their own initiatives while showcasing how teamwork can drive lasting results.
“State and local governments drive community resilience through renewable energy and decarbonization efforts, but rarely receive the credit and recognition they deserve,” said Geremy Wolff, McKinstry Vice President of Energy & Technical Services for the PNW Region. “Celebrating four state and local government organizations as the first Zero+ Champions of Sustainability of 2026 is a tremendous representation of just how much work has been done to serve our communities. Through this partnership with Lumen Field, we recognize the efforts of these organizations and celebrate the leaders demonstrating real impact every day.”
Here’s how each winner is advancing sustainability, decarbonization and community resiliency:
Covington Water District
Covington Water District implemented an inventive approach to clean energy that turns everyday utility infrastructure into a renewable power source. Rather than installing a conventional pressure-reducing valve, which sheds excess water-main pressure as heat and noise, Covington Water District installed a custom in-pipe hydro turbine to generate electricity. Completed in 2018, the turbine now offsets 100% of the administrative campus’s electrical load and cuts roughly 400,000 pounds of CO₂ annually.
Building on that success, Covington Water District is now advancing a cutting-edge microgrid with battery storage and a second turbine that will allow its campus to run on clean, renewable power independently during grid outages, eliminating the need for diesel backup generators.
The City of Seattle
The City of Seattle established itself as one of the nation’s most ambitious municipal climate leaders. Its municipal utility, Seattle City Light, was the first carbon-neutral utility in the nation, giving the city a clean-energy foundation few can match. Seattle assessed more than 120 city facilities, including City Hall, the Seattle Municipal Tower and the Justice Center, producing a portfolio-wide capital planning tool to guide infrastructure investment.
Seattle Park and Recreation’s Decarbonization Package One targets five city facilities for electrification, replacing fossil fuel systems and reducing direct emissions. The five facilities were chosen to prioritize investments to communities who would benefit the most. Equity was an important factor when it decided on the sequencing of its decarbonization plan.
The city has also enacted a Building Emissions Performance Standard requiring large buildings to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, paired with millions in annual Building Decarbonization Grants, and 20 city-owned facilities have already reached zero-carbon operations.
The City of Redmond
The City of Redmond declared a Climate Emergency in 2020 that sparked a 30-year Environmental Sustainability Action Plan committing the city to carbon neutrality in municipal operations by 2040 and community-wide by 2050. Redmond is leading by example on its own facilities through its Operations Zero Carbon Strategy, which charts a path to 100% renewable electricity, decarbonized city buildings and an electrified vehicle fleet. That commitment is visible in projects like the modernization of its 53,328-square-foot Public Safety Building, where Redmond replaced aging water-source heat pumps with higher-efficiency units, upgraded interior lighting to LEDs and improved ventilation throughout the facility.
In 2024, the Redmond Senior and Community Center opened and became the first LEED Platinum senior center and first LEED Platinum community center in the world by incorporating sustainably sourced mass timber, solar PV and other efficiencies into the design. It is one of many ongoing sustainability efforts underway in Redmond, including solar PV at City Hall, an expanded EV fleet, better charging options for fleet vehicles, employees and visitors, and substantial efficiency upgrades to the Redmond Pool.
By aligning individual projects with their Environmental Sustainability Action Plan, the City of Redmond is reducing energy and resource use across all buildings and decarbonizing municipal operations. Redmond’s blend of ambitious targets, lead-by-example operations and sustained investment makes the City of Redmond a clear sustainability leader.
The City of Renton
The City of Renton embeds sustainability into its economic strategy rather than treating it as a standalone initiative. The city was among the first in the region to formalize climate action through its original Clean Economy Strategy in 2011. In 2023, the city adopted the Clean Economy Strategy 2.0, a Renton-tailored roadmap of 32 actions across transportation and land use, buildings and energy, consumption and materials, water and natural systems and community resilience. To execute on that vision, Renton assessed 62 facilities totaling 870,000 square feet, producing a 30-year capital plan that gives city staff and elected officials a clear framework for prioritizing investments.
At the Renton Community Center and two Public Works buildings, aging HVAC systems have been replaced with high-efficiency equipment, and an Energy Savings Performance Contract is advancing additional upgrades at City Hall. Renton pairs policy leadership with practical operational stewardship, maintaining one of the highest residential recycling rates in the state and requiring new city facilities to meet a LEED Silver green building standard or better.
“Our partnership with McKinstry shows what’s possible when we work together toward a common goal,” said Christy Briggs, sustainability manager at Lumen Field. “Celebrating these champions at Lumen Field is a reminder that sustainability is a team effort that reaches far beyond the stadium and into our communities.”
McKinstry and Lumen Field will recognize two additional rounds of Zero+ Champions of Sustainability on October 11 and November 8.
About McKinstry
McKinstry is a national leader in designing, constructing, operating and maintaining high-performing buildings. From new construction and ongoing operations to adaptive reuse and energy retrofits, the company provides a single point of accountability across the entire building lifecycle. McKinstry focuses on people and outcomes to ensure the built environment serves owners, operators and occupants alike. McKinstry is your trusted partner for the life of your building. Learn more at www.mckinstry.com.
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