Sustainable SITES Initiative

SITES is a sustainability-focused framework that ushers landscape architects, engineers and others toward practices that protect ecosystems and enhance the mosaic of benefits they continuously provide our communities, such as climate regulation, carbon storage and flood mitigation. SITES is the culmination of years of research and development by leading professionals in the fields of soil, water, vegetation, materials and human health.

By providing performance measures rather than prescribing practices, SITES supports the unique conditions of each site, encouraging project teams to be flexible and creative as they develop beautiful, functional and regenerative landscapes.

SITES-certified landscapes help reduce water demand, filter and reduce stormwater runoff, provide wildlife habitat, reduce energy consumption, improve air quality, improve human health and increase outdoor recreation opportunities.

SITES certification is based on a point system: the number of points that a project earns determines the certification level it receives. The SITES certification process allows projects to benchmark against performance criteria. The process is performed through SITES Online, which is a simplified tool designed to collect documentation and track projects from start to finish.

Advance your knowledge of sustainable landscapes.

 
 
 

Review the free SITES Rating System and scorecard that provides you with a complete set of prerequisites and credits used for measuring site sustainability.

 

[Photos are of SITES certified projects: Phipps’ Center for Sustainable Landscapes, Victoria Garden Mews, Taylor Residence, and SWT Design Campus.]