SITES' revised rating system alturl.com/3ocj8 is the culmination of many years of dedicated work by a team of volunteer experts.

Nancy Somerville, executive vice president and CEO of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) reports to its members that ASLA and the University of Texas at Austin (UT) are in negotiations with the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) for GBCI to administer project certification and professional credentialing for the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES).

Established in 2008, GBCI currently performs project certification and professional credentialing for the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (green building rating system).

Somerville reports the ASLA Board of Directors and the boards of GBCI and UT are committed to the underlying principles of such an agreement. ASLA expects SITES will be rebranded, but will continue to be involved in the future direction of SITES, will collaborate with GBCI on promotion and advocacy for the program, and provide related education programming.

Somerville notes the involvement of USGBC and GBCI has always been a critical part in the development of SITES, and believes that GBCI resources "will more quickly enable SITES to realize its full potential for market transformation."

The final agreement is not yet in place, but Somerville expects soon to be able to share the start date for open SITES project certification through GBCI.