Green Business Certification (GBCI) relaunched its newly acquired SITES rating system, which the company calls a “comprehensive program and toolkit for developing sustainable landscapes.”

The SITES rating system uses industry standards for landscape design and incorporates additional recommendations from technical experts in the fields of soil science, botany and horticulture, hydrology, materials, and human health and well-being. Some of the credits for sustainable landscape performance have been developed in alignment with similar credits in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, a widely used green building program.

“Landscapes knit together the fabric of our communities,” said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO of GBCI. “And sustainable landscapes are critical in their ability to reduce water demand, filter and reduce storm water runoff, provide wildlife habitat, reduce energy consumption, improve air quality, improve human health and increase outdoor recreation opportunities. SITES is an important addition to our toolkit, and GBCI appreciates this opportunity to support this additional contribution to healthy, thriving communities and neighborhoods.”

SITES, originally modeled after LEED, includes best practices in landscape architecture, ecological restoration and related fields as well as knowledge gained through peer-reviewed literature, case-study precedents and projects registered in the SITES pilot program.

SITES was developed by 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. The rating system can be applied to development projects located on sites with or without buildings, including national parks, corporate campuses, streetscapes and homes.