The Sustainable SITES Initiative® (SITES)®

About the Sustainable SITES Initiative and the SITES Rating System

The Sustainable SITES Initiative is a set of voluntary guidelines and a rating system that measures how well landscapes are designed, built, and maintained for sustainability. Landscape architects, designers, engineers, architects, developers, and policymakers use SITES to guide land development and improve environmental performance. The SITES v2 Rating System applies to many types of projects, with or without buildings. Examples include parks and open spaces, streetscapes, campuses, neighborhoods, residential yards, military sites, and more.

The SITES Rating System is produced by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), which owns the rights to the rating system, its publications, and its trademarks. The original SITES materials were developed through a partnership among the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Fund, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin, and the United States Botanic Garden.

ASLA and the University of Texas at Austin later transferred ownership of the SITES Rating System to GBCI, the same organization that certifies LEED green building projects for the U.S. Green Building Council.

GBCI now accepts applications for SITES v2 project certification and offers open registration for the SITES AP professional exam. ASLA members receive discounts on SITES materials, project certification, and the SITES AP exam.