Design for One Earth is RNL’s sustainable design model, measure and message. RNL believes the design of the built environment not only has the capacity, but also the responsibility, to build a world with a bright, green future. Humanity as a whole is using 1.5 times the planet’s resources and if we all lived like Americans do, we would need nearly five earths. The core of our sustainable design philosophy centers on the question, "Can we live abundantly within the limits of One Earth?”

We believe the answer is yes.

Design for One Earth pushes us toward holistic design solutions that espouse 12 values centered on environmental, social and economic priorities: carbon, energy, water, waste, materials, land use, prosperity, vision, resilience, beauty, health and happiness. By maintaining big-picture thinking and a holistic base of values, opportunities for innovation in our work reveal themselves. We can then hold ourselves to being exemplars of the highest levels of sustainability and design excellence all while seeking to aggressively reduce the environmental impact of the built world and creating a future of abundance.