December 19, 2008—The Sustainable Sites Initiative Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks Draft 2008 is currently available for public comment. The report represents more than 1000 hours of guidance from 37 technical advisors and is reportedly the most comprehensive set of national guidelines yet developed for the sustainable design, construction, and maintenance of landscapes.
The report includes more than 50 prerequisites and credits that will enable built landscapes to support natural ecological functions by protecting existing ecosystems and regenerating ecological capacity where it has been lost. The Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks were tailored to apply to any landscape, with or without buildings.
Visit the SSI site to download the report and help guide the continued development of the guidelines by participating in the online public review process. The closing date for the public comment period is January 20, 2009.
The Sustainable Sites Initiative is a partnership of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin and the United States Botanic Garden working in conjunction with a diverse group of stakeholder organizations to create a voluntary rating system for sustainable landscapes.
