The Sightline Institute is an independent, non-profit organization

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 based in Seattle, Washington, U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Focusing on environmental policy

Environmental policy

Environmental policy is any [course of] action deliberately taken [or not taken] to manage human activities with a view to prevent, reduce, or mitigate harmful effects on nature and natural resources, and ensuring that man-made changes to the environment do not have harmful effects on...

, it was founded in 1993 by activist and author Alan Durning

Alan Durning

Alan Thein Durning is the founder and executive director of the Sightline Institute, , a non-profit organization based in Seattle, Washington, U.S.....

. Its stated mission is to "make the Northwest a global model of sustainability—strong communities, a green economy, and a healthy environment".

The Institute's "Cascadia

Cascadia (independence movement)

Cascadia is the proposed name for a bioregional political entity and/or an independent nation located within the Cascadian bioregion of the Pacific Northwest of North America...

 Scorecard", published every year since 2004, scores the Pacific Northwest

Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...

 bioregion on measurable progress towards sustainability in seven areas: health, economy, population, energy, sprawl, wildlife, and pollution. Other publications have focused on environmental tax shift

Tax shift

Tax shift or Tax swap is a change in taxation that eliminates or reduces one or several taxes and establishes or increases others while keeping the overall revenue the same...

 proposals, and "Seven Wonders for a Cool Planet: Everyday Things to Help Solve Global Warming", published by Sierra Club Books

Sierra Club Books

Sierra Club Books is the publishing division of the Sierra Club, founded in 1960 by then Sierra Club President David Brower. Volumes intended for club members had been published prior to 1960. In addition, books under their name had been published before 1960, but done through already established...

.