Environmental + Sustainability

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Sustainable Sites Initiative released the nation’s first rating system for the design, construction, and maintenance of sustainable landscapes, with or without buildings. A partnership of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and the U.S. Botanic Garden, the initiative’s rating system represents four years of work by sustainability experts, scientists, and design professionals, as well as public input from individuals and dozens of organizations.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Sustainable Sites Initiative released the nation’s first rating system for the design, construction, and maintenance of sustainable landscapes, with or without buildings. A partnership of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and the U.S. Botanic Garden, the Initiative’s rating system represents four years of work by dozens of the country’s leading sustainability experts, scientists, and design professionals, as well as public input from hundreds of individuals and dozens of organizations to create this essential missing link in green design.

DENVER – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Ray LaHood, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, and White House Director of Urban Affairs Adolfo Carrion, representing the Obama Administration’s DOT-HUD-EPA Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities, wrapped up their three-city Sustainable Communities Tour in Denver.

SKOKIE, ILL. — Energy-efficient and affordable housing, systems to control stormwater run-off and road construction that recycles a failed base to create a stronger, longer lasting pavement were some of the projects honored by the Portland Cement Association's 2009 Sustainable Leadership Award program.

HUD, DOT, and EPA partner for sustainable communities Washington, D.C. - U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced last month an interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities to help improve access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs while protecting the environment in communities nationwide.

The Portland Cement Association extended its call for nominations for the 2009 Sustainable Leadership Awards. The deadline to submit final entries is now June 20, 2009. This annual initiative identifies and honors government leaders who advance sustainable development in their communities through the use of concrete and cement-based products.

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), the world’s leading authority on tall building design and construction, designated the Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC) the world’s "Best Tall Building Overall" in 2008 at its annual awards ceremony in Chicago.

Brian Leary, vice president of AIG Global Real Estate, will deliver the keynote presentation, The Finer Points of the Big Picture: Real Estate’s Opportunity to Change the Way We Live, at the 2008 Land Development East Conference on March 25, 2008, in Atlanta. Leary will discuss the critical issues of land, air, water, and energy uses through the lens of the largest urban brownfield reclamation project in the country, Atlantic Station. He will also explore the finer points of achieving the big-picture goal of sustainable real estate development.

The 2008 Land Development East Conference & Expo, sponsored by CE News, will take place March 25-26 at the Sheraton Atlanta.