More than Three-Fourths of Landscape Architecture Community Says Climate and Biodiversity Commitment Program Is Needed

Survey from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) shows high demand for increased accountability

ASLA has released the results of a survey on landscape architects’ demand for a new Climate and Biodiversity Commitment Program. Over 230 landscape architects, designers, and landscape architecture educators responded to the survey in April 2025.

The survey found that 77 percent of respondents think a Climate and Biodiversity Commitment Program is needed for the landscape architecture community.

The architecture, engineering and construction industries have commitment programs, such as the AIA 2030 Commitment. These programs set clear climate goals, track project impacts, and issue public reports on progress.

“Real climate leadership listens first. Through the Climate Action Plan, we heard a clear call: our members want a meaningful way to commit and contribute to climate and biodiversity goals. ASLA is exploring how a potential commitment program could turn insight into impact,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen, Hon. ASLA.

“A commitment program will help build the credibility and relevance of landscape architects’ climate and biodiversity work among our peers in the architecture, engineering, and planning professions,” said Pamela Conrad, ASLA, inaugural ASLA Climate and Biodiversity Action Fellow and Founder, Climate Positive Design. “It will also help us better align with and advance industry standards on built environment data.”

A Climate and Biodiversity Commitment Program for landscape architects will help the community collectively:

Measure projects’ benefits and impacts
Increase accountability
Align with industry standards

A commitment program establishes goals that firms and organizations commit to. Firms typically submit project data, which is then validated, measured in aggregate, and then shared publicly in an annual report.

More than half of survey respondents said a commitment program would enable them to better show their commitment to clients with climate action plans. A majority said a program would support landscape architects’ alignment with other disciplines’ efforts. And a third thought a program would increase landscape architects’ competitive advantage.

Without a commitment program, a minority of landscape architects are consistently tracking their project benefits and impacts:

36 percent are tracking water data
22 percent are tracking biodiversity data
21 percent are tracking carbon data
16 percent are measuring heat reductions
13 percent are measuring equity benefits

A minority of landscape architects are also now using tools to reduce project greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon sequestration. 25 percent of survey respondents are using Climate Positive Design’s Pathfinder while 21 percent are using Sasaki’s Carbon Conscience.

Climate Positive Design’s Pathfinder / Climate Positive Design

While the lack of a commitment program hinders efforts to measure project data using these tools, there are other obstacles identified by survey respondents:

Just 19 percent of respondents said they had the knowledge and resources to achieve the measurable goals of the ASLA Climate Action Plan. These include carbon and biodiversity improvements, water use reduction, canopy cover increases, and more.
Another third said they have the knowledge but lack the resources.
16 percent said they don’t receive enough cooperation from clients, allied professions, and manufacturers to achieve the goals.
Only 23 percent of respondents have their own climate, sustainability or biodiversity action plan to guide progress; another 20 percent said a plan is in development.

But there is also significant progress. More than a third of respondents are now making investments of time and resources to meet ASLA Climate Action Plan goals. They are focusing on a few priorities: employee training and education and researching and specifying low-emission materials.

Ways to reduce project emissions via Carbon Conscience / Sasaki

A majority of respondents think the broad shift to more sustainable landscape architecture projects will impact how the profession designs projects and sources materials. And as the market continues to move towards more sustainable projects, 48 percent of respondents are highlighting or plan to highlight their expertise in climate and biodiversity work.

ASLA and its Climate and Biodiversity Action Committee provide education and resources to help landscape architects decarbonize their projects, including:

ASLA and Climate Positive Design continue to explore the feasibility of a new commitment program. Fill out this brief form to get news and stay up-to-date.