Sustainable Sites Initiative

Sustainable Sites Initiative
Name	Sustainable Sites Initiative
Formation	2007
Founders	Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center; United States Botanic Garden; American Society of Landscape Architects
Type	Partnership
Purpose	Sustainable land design and management
Headquarters	Austin, Texas
Region served	International

Sustainable Sites Initiative The Sustainable Sites Initiative was a collaborative partnership launched to create voluntary national guidelines and performance benchmarks for sustainable land design and development. It brought together practitioners from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, the United States Botanic Garden, and the American Society of Landscape Architects with input from agencies such as the United States Green Building Council, foundations like the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and institutions including the National Park Service and the Smithsonian Institution. The Initiative produced a consensus-based rating system intended to complement programs like Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and link to broader efforts by organizations such as the International WELL Building Institute and the World Green Building Council.

Overview

The Initiative originated in 2007 through a coalition involving the Getty Foundation, the US Green Building Council Education Fund, and academic partners including Harvard Graduate School of Design, Yale School of Architecture, and the University of California, Berkeley. It responded to growing interest from practitioners associated with the Urban Land Institute, the American Planning Association, and the Royal Horticultural Society for standards comparable to LEED but focused on landscapes and open space. The resulting guidance synthesized research from laboratories and centers such as the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and the US Geological Survey to address issues intersecting with programs run by the Environmental Protection Agency and the United Nations Environment Programme.

Goals and Principles

The Initiative set out goals emphasizing ecosystem services, biodiversity, soil health, water balance, and human well-being, aligning with principles promoted by the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It recommended practices consistent with conservation strategies used by the Nature Conservancy and the World Wildlife Fund, and linked urban applications to initiatives led by the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme. Principles included site stewardship models familiar to the National Trust for Historic Preservation and community engagement approaches used by the Local Government Commission and the Trust for Public Land.

Rating System and Criteria

The rating system organized credits across categories addressing site context, pre-design assessment, soil and vegetation, water conservation, materials and waste, and human health. Criteria drew on standards and protocols from the ISO 14001 family, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the American National Standards Institute. Credits paralleled metrics developed by the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council and performance measures from the Greenroads Rating System and the Envision Rating System managed by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure. The framework referenced methods from the Soil Science Society of America, the American Public Works Association, and the International Society of Arboriculture for tree protection and soil compaction guidance.

Certification Process

Certification under the Initiative involved documentation, third-party verification, and site monitoring, relying on protocols similar to those used by the Forest Stewardship Council and the Fair Trade USA verification models. Project teams often included professionals credentialed through the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Royal Institute of British Architects, and the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management. Verification partnered with organizations experienced in audits such as Green Seal and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and used data collection approaches comparable to those employed by the US Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for hydrologic monitoring.

Implementation and Case Studies

Early pilot projects spanned a range of contexts including urban parks, university campuses, corporate campuses, and transportation corridors. Notable demonstrations involved collaborations with institutions such as the University of Texas at Austin, the Stanford University campus, the City of Chicago parks, and cultural landscapes managed by the Smithsonian Institution. Projects showcased stormwater management techniques informed by research from the Water Environment Federation and low-impact development features promoted by the Center for Watershed Protection and the American Rivers organization. International adaptations referenced pilot work in cities associated with the C40 Cities network and conservation projects supported by the World Bank.

Criticism and Impact Assessment

Critiques of the Initiative addressed practical challenges similar to debates around LEED and other rating systems: verification costs, applicability across climates, and the need for long-term monitoring akin to discussions in the National Academy of Sciences reports. Academic evaluations from researchers at institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Michigan, and Cornell University examined outcomes for biodiversity, stormwater performance, and human health, comparing them to benchmarks set by the American Society for Horticultural Science and policy analyses by the Brookings Institution. Impact assessments considered integration with municipal codes influenced by the Congress for the New Urbanism and fiscal analyses referenced by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Category:Landscape architecture Category:Environmental certification