Recently, 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, most notably a commitment to make landscape architecture a zero-emissions profession by 2040. The firms signing the letter have designed many of the most-visited parks, public plazas, stadium grounds, waterfronts, and transportation corridors across the United States and worldwide, representing tens of billions of dollars of public and private infrastructure.
The letter reads, “Summer 2024 has once again laid bare the urgency of adapting our infrastructure for the extremes of a changing climate. As founders and CEOs of leading global landscape architecture firms, we see both immense opportunity and an immediate need for new policies, design tools, and solutions to help our communities thrive in a changing world.
This is a public commitment and call to action. Join us.” and goes on to later state the business’ commitments: “We publicly and expressly endorse, support, and commit to the goals articulated in the ASLA 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 in 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.
The closing paragraphs of the letter call 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.”
Signatories:
Gerdo P. Aquino, FASLA, PLA SWA
Thomas Balsley, FASLA, PLA SWA/Balsley
Cheryl Barton, FASLA, PLA Office of Cheryl Barton
Jim Burnett, FASLA, PLA OJB
Andrea Cochran, FASLA, ACLA
Shane Coen, FASLA, PLA Coen + Partners
James Corner, FASLA, PLA Field Operations
Michelle Delk, FASLA, PLA Snohetta
Michael Grove, FASLA, PLA Sasaki
Jennifer Guthrie, FASLA, PLA GGN
Joseph W. Healy WRT Design
Gary Hilderbrand, FASLA, PLA Reed-Hilderbrand
Douglas Hoerr, FASLA, PLA Hoerr Schaudt
Mark Johnson, FASLA, PLA Civitas, Inc.
Michael Johnson, ASLA, PLA SmithGroup
Mary Margaret Jones, FASLA, PLA Hargreaves Jones
Mia Lehrer, FASLA Studio-MLA
Kate Orff, FASLA, PLA SCAPE
Thomas Oslund, FASLA, PLA 02 Design
Signe Nielsen, FASLA, PLA MNLA
Lucinda Sanders, FASLA, PLA Olin Studio
Martha Schwartz, FASLA, PLA Martha Schwartz Partners
Douglas C. Smith, ASLA, PLA EDSA
Ken Smith, FASLA, PLA Ken Smith Workshop
Jay Swaintek, ASLA, PLA PWP Landscape Architecture
Thaisa Way, FASLA Dumbarton Oaks