Dear Keith and Water Team:

Here is a link to Sustainable Sites Initiative, now called SITES rating system. SITES has a long history, but the short story is that this is a robust and leading tool for advancing landscape performance. It not only a tool but also a certification program. It is/will be adopted by USGBC to inform the sites credits for LEED. In many ways, it was a response to LEED really not getting at the potential for site systems themselves. It could be added to iCAP's recommendations for renovations and new construction. 

Just as with LEED, it went through some growing pains, particularly challenging was documenting pre-design conditions to demonstrate performance and sustainability improvement. After multiple years of pilot projects and testing, version 2 has just been released. It can be used with or without a building or other structure within the site, making it a great tool for our campus. 

A colleague of mine at Conservation Design Forum in Elmhurst, IL has been a key participant in its development, and he would be a fantastic additional to our external consultant group. 

http://www.sustainablesites.org

Thanks, see you tomorrow,

Mary Pat

Mary Pat Mattson, RLA, ASLA

Assistant Professor : Department of Landscape Architecture

College of Fine and Applied Arts : UIUC

611 Taft Drive, Champaign IL 61820