(APRIL 6, 2017) – The national news on climate change has been grim. The current administration is proposing to drastically roll back environmental regulations, cut EPA funding, and pull out of our commitments under the Paris climate change agreement. However, these headlines underestimate the momentum in cities, states, businesses, and institutions for sustainable development. In fact, an inaugural group of professionals within the design and construction industry is expanding sustainable design and operation standards beyond the building. 

The Sustainable SITES Initiative (SITES) is the first program to offer both a comprehensive rating system and professional credential standards for sustainable land development and management. The four overarching goals of SITES are:

1. to create regenerative systems and foster resiliency;
2. ensure future source supply and mitigate climate change;
3. transform the market through design, development, and maintenance practices; and
4. enhance human wellbeing and strengthen the community.

SITES can be applied to development projects located on land, with or without buildings, and is currently being used by landscape architects, engineers, architects, developers, policymakers, and real estate organizations, most notably, the U.S. General Services Administration. Achieving a SITES accredited professional (SITES AP) credential confirms that the professional possesses the knowledge and skills necessary to support SITES certification, including participating in the design and development process and encouraging integrated design. SITES is administered by Green Building Certification Inc. (GBCI), the same group that oversees the widely-used Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standard.

Andropogon, a landscape architecture and ecological design firm with offices in Philadelphia, PA, and Raleigh, NC, is proud to have two landscape architects among the inaugural group to earn their SITES professional credentials. Emily McCoy, Associate Principal & Director of Integrative Research, and Jason Curtis, Associate, are among the first group to become SITES Accredited Professionals (SITES AP), placing them among a progressive group of design professionals who are dedicated to elevating the value of landscapes in the built environment. Emily and Jason continue Andropogon’s 40-year pursuit of an ecological approach to landscape architecture. The firm views SITES as an opportunity to help both clients and designers understand and quantify the benefits we derive from healthy, high-performance landscapes. Andropogon was part of the initial SITES® Technical Committee and later designed three landscapes under the pilot program. This is just one way the firm is pushing the boundaries of how we define truly sustainable sites.

To learn more about Andropogon’s commitment to sustainable landscape design, development, and management, visit www.andropogon.com. More information on SITES and the SITES AP credentialing process is available at http://www.sustainablesites.org/sites-ap.