This week, 26 CEOs representing some of the world’s largest and most influential landscape architecture firms released a public letter committing their firms to achieve the goals laid out in the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Climate Action Plan. The commitment includes making landscape architecture a zero-emissions profession by 2040. Firms that signed the letter have designed some of the most-visited parks, public plazas, stadium grounds, waterfronts, and transportation corridors across the U.S. and around the world, representing tens of billions of dollars of public and private infrastructure.
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Here’s an excerpt from the letter:
“Because we work so closely with land and water, landscape architects are natural leaders in designing climate-resilient communities — from stormwater management to green infrastructure to sustainable transportation to biodiversity conservation. Every day, we design nature-based solutions to help build communities that are more resilient to extreme weather, more equitable for everyone, and more supportive of human health and wellness.”
It also expresses key business commitments:
“Leaders of more than two dozen top-tier firms that influence billions of dollars in infrastructure spending and millions of acres of land have just pledged to make their profession zero emissions by 2040 — this is a really big deal.”
— Torey Carter-Conneen, CEO, ASLA
“We publicly and expressly endorse, support, and commit to the goals articulated in the American Society of Landscape Architects Climate Action Plan, which sets specific and extraordinarily ambitious goals for the profession of landscape architecture to become a zero-emission profession by 2040, including in our business operations, designed landscapes, and the materials and products used in our work.”
The businesses represented on the letter collectively do more than $350 million in revenues annually and lead or contribute to projects with more than $1 billion in construction value annually. Their work influences millions of acres in more than 50 countries every year.
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The CEOs called on governments, clients, and peers in the closing section of the letter, writing in part:
“We call on our colleagues in allied disciplines to partner with us in designing and implementing solutions. We call on leaders in government at every level to prioritize resilience, emissions reductions, and human wellbeing in their policymaking. We call on our clients to be bold and curious as we design the future together.”
You can read the full letter here.