The carbon footprint of the built environment is often understood in terms of construction, building energy use, and transportation. However, landscapes also contain enormous potential to sequester carbon and mitigate climate change.

Studies show that with concerted global action on land use over the next decade -- what the United Nations is calling the decade for ecosystem restoration -- nature can be a significant and necessary part of the climate solution, offering up to 37% of the mitigation needed.

The Sustainable SITES Initiative promotes sustainable and resilient landscape development and can be used for development projects located on sites with or without buildings to enhance their sustainability, implement green infrastructure strategies and improve resilience.

The SITES rating system now offers a new pilot credit, Assess and Improve Site Carbon Performance, to encourage and reward land development projects that assess and quantify carbon emissions and carbon sequestration capacity, and then make improvements to their impact on carbon. The credit provides multiple entry points for participation from conducting a carbon assessment to achieving performance improvements from a baseline.

Learn more about the SITES carbon pilot credit.

As resilience and sustainability become more and more important for clients and communities, SITES certification distinguishes the efforts invested into thoughtful land design and development. See if SITES could be right for your next project.