As GBCI continues to bring SITES to new markets and potential users around the world, we are overwhelmed by the excitement about the program. All across the country and in far corners of the globe, leaders in sustainability and landscape design are weighing how to include SITES in new and future projects. Already, projects in New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Hong Kong and various other locations have registered for SITES.

Washington, D.C.—(April 13, 2016)—The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced it has adopted the SITES rating system for its capital construction program. Owned and managed by Green Business Certification, Inc. (GBCI), SITES is the most comprehensive program for sustainable land development and management and is used by landscape architects, engineers, architects, developers and policymakers to align land development with innovative sustainable design.

GBCI recently announced development of a new professional credential called the SITES AP. GBCI will begin offering testing for the SITES AP in October 2016.  

In a recent GBCI survey, 80 percent of respondents said that they planned on implementing SITES in their organization or practice, and 89 percent indicated interest in earning a professional credential, such as SITES-accredited professional.

Development of a new professional credential called the SITES Accredited Professional (SITES AP) is currently under way at GBCI.

The Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) was created in response to an immediate need to shift our current development mindset to define and measure the performance of healthy ecological systems. By altering our current development path to be more compatible with these natural systems, we can increase the capability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Your project team is interested in pursuing SITES v2—the most comprehensive program for sustainable landscape design—but how do you know if your project is eligible? With this handy list, you'll be able to determine if your project can achieve SITES certification. Here are a few things to keep in mind before your team registers a project in SITES Online.

The concept of intentional, regionally appropriate and resource-efficient landscape design and management has been essential to LEED since its inception. As an increasing number of practitioners have sought to demonstrate leadership in this space, the Sustainable SITES Initiative (SITES) was developed as a freestanding rating system to complement its presence within LEED.

Traditional land development and land use decisions often underestimate or ignore healthy ecosystems. Sustainable land development is cost-effective, better for the environment and fosters resiliency. Last year, GBCI expanded on its vision of speed to market transformation for the built environment to cover nearly every facet of sustainability, including sustainable landscape design and management.

Considering implementing SITES in your organization or practice? Interested in earning a SITES professional credential? We are exploring this possibility at USGBC and need your feedback.