Sustainable Sites Initiative Preliminary Report Released for Comment
29 Nov, 2007 By: Landscape Management Staff LDB SolutionsThe Sustainable Sites Initiative (SSI) has released a preliminary report of proposed standards and guidelines for comment. SSI is a partnership between the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin and the United States Botanic Garden to create voluntary guidelines and a rating system for sustainable landscape design. ANLA is involved in developing the plant guidelines and has a representative sitting on the vegetation subcommittee.
SSI is building on the success of the LEEDS program, a proven and widely recognized set of voluntary guidelines developed by the US Green Building Council. LEED guidelines provide a formal process for builders and developers to design and construct a certified green building. According to ANLA Executive Vice President, Bob Dolibois, “Many in the industry are wondering how our businesses can build on the growing “green movement” in a positive and profitable manner. SSI offers the opportunity for those businesses to explore and adopt specific ways to make the connection between the burgeoning green building trend and the landscapes around — or on top — of these buildings.”
The preliminary standards and guidelines focus on using site adapted plant material and proper site preparation. In other words, says Dolibois, a philosophy of right plant, right place. Dolibois suggests that the greatest benefit of the program may lie in tying the landscape to the beginning of the building design process, not as an afterthought once the bulk of a project budget has already been spent. Dolibois encourages members of the green industry to review the preliminary report posted on the SSI website, www.sustainablesites.org. The preliminary report is open for comment until January 11, 2008. Dolibois says, “file your response as a business that stands to gain a lot if this SSI takes off. If we want this system to work to our advantage, then the industry needs to weigh in with its advice and counsel. Note the indispensable role plants—lots of them—play in truly sustainable sites.”
The Preliminary Report on Standards and Guidelines represents thousands of hours of work in the past year by 32 experts in fields ranging from design and construction to soils, hydrology, and public health. The findings examine the positive environmental impact sustainable landscapes offer. For example, appropriate vegetation can help control erosion, filter out pollutants, provide habitat for wildlife and pollinators and supply oxygen for the air we breathe. The preliminary report also details practices that degrade landscapes and should be avoided, as well as techniques for designing landscapes that benefit the environment.
"The truly exciting thing about sustainable landscapes is that they actually help us confront some of the most serious environmental problems the world is facing now, including climate change," says Susan Rieff, executive director of the Wildflower Center. "Plants absorb carbon dioxide — a greenhouse gas and a major cause of global warming — from the air and soils can capture it and hold it. Native grasses may be even more effective in sequestering carbon than trees. This can help mitigate climate change."
"People want to do the right thing, " says Holly Shimizu, executive director of the United States Botanic Garden, "but they need guidelines. The standards developed under Sustainable Sites will integrate landscape into the overall green movement. Without the landscape component, a truly sustainable lifestyle isn't possible."
Eventually, Sustainable Sites will create a rating system that will apply to large and small sites, and can be used independently or incorporated into other green rating systems. The U.S. Green Building Council is lending its support to this project and plans to adopt the Sustainable Sites metrics into future versions of the LEED Green Building Rating System.
After feedback is gathered from the review process, a comprehensive report will be published in October 2008 with the release of final Standards and Guidelines for Sustainable Sites planned for May 2009. The Sustainable Sites Initiative plans to produce a rating system by May 2011 and test the guidelines with pilot projects in 2010 and 2011.
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