As stewards of the land involved with the surveying, engineering and design of landscape and site development projects, we are excited to see that the Sustainable Sites Initiative will be releasing the first full national rating system for sustainable landscapes as part of their “Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks 2009” report.
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building rating system is the benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of buildings in an environmentally friendly way. While the Green Building rating system does include a section for the site and landscape portion of a construction or development project, there are no comparable standards that are as comprehensive for sustainable landscapes. In response to this need, the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center joined together to create the Sustainable Sites Initiative in 2005. After three years of tireless research and work by a group of very dedicated professionals, this rating system specific to the landscape will finally be released on November 5th.
This point-based ranking system of 15 prerequisites and 51 credits covers the entire range of design and construction phases of landscape and site development projects including appropriate site selection and pre-design assessment and planning, to site design, construction, and maintenance. These landscape-specific standards will eventually be rolled into the current LEED system.
It has been our philosophy for 36 years to approach our design solutions from an environmentally friendly perspective. We look forward to continuing these sustainable practices and helping future generations experience the same opportunities to enjoy the environment as we did. For more information on the Sustainable Sites Initiative, please visit their website at www.sustainablesites.org.
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