Sustainable Sites Initiative
The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) South Table Mountain Campus has become one of eight pilot projects newly certified by the Sustainable Sites Initiative™ (SITES™) for its sustainable site design, construction and maintenance. NREL joins 23 other projects that have received certification since January 2012.
The NREL South Table Mountain Campus was awarded a three-star rating by SITES, an interdisciplinary effort led by the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin and the United States Botanic Garden to create a voluntary, national rating system and guidelines for sustainable landscapes of all types, with or without buildings. Certification is based on The Sustainable Sites Initiative: Guidelines and Benchmarks 2009.
Notable sustainable features at NREL’s South Table Mountain Campus include:
- Exhibiting educational signage kiosks conveying intention and function
- Harvesting material resources on site
- Creating multi-functions for project features
- Implementing innovative water treatment and conservation measures
- Installing unique material products for prairie grassland and wet meadow establishment
For more information about sustainable landscape design or designing to the Sustainable Sites Initiative, please contact Brian Nicholson, RNL, at
