LPA Sustainability Specialist Co-authors Decarbonization Guide for Landscape Architects

The first-of-its-kind guide provides landscape architects with clear, actionable strategies to reduce carbon emissions across design and construction phases.

LPA Sustainability Specialist Alejandra Hinojosa has co-authored a landmark guide published by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) intended to help landscape architects integrate decarbonization strategies across all project phases. The guide, titled “Decarbonizing the Design Process,” is the first comprehensive resource to organize decarbonization efforts step-by-step, offering professionals a clear roadmap to reduce carbon emissions and work toward eliminating embodied carbon from their projects.

The guide is the collective work of ASLA’s Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee, a group of landscape architects charged with implementing ASLA’s Climate Action Plan. The authors drew from a wide range of existing research and resources, including data from tools such as Climate Conscience and Pathfinder.

“This is the first time all the necessary information is available in one place,” Hinojosa said. “It’s a game changer for landscape architects, who have been asking for a practical roadmap for getting to zero carbon by 2040.”

Hinojosa’s work on the guide represents two years of effort, independently and in collaboration with ASLA, where she played a major role in shaping the content and structure.

In addition to her key role in the phase-by-phase guide, Hinojosa contributed to the development of “Decarbonizing Specifications,” a companion publication intended to ensure low-carbon choices are carried through from design into construction. A third publication, “Navigating Environmental Product Data,” was published at the same time.

These resources are a significant step forward for the landscape architecture profession as it works toward ASLA’s goal of reaching zero emissions by 2040. The guides are primarily geared toward landscape architects, specifiers and contractors, but they can also inform the work of planners, architects, engineers, and urban designers.

LPA’s involvement builds on the firm’s longstanding commitment to eliminating carbon emissions from their work. Landscape Architecture Project Designer Andrew Wickham, also a member of ASLA’s Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee, has been leading LPA’s carbon accounting efforts, spearheading the integration of tools such as the Pathfinder app, which helps firms track carbon impacts in real-time. LPA has been recognized as a top contributor to the Climate Positive Design Challenge for the past three years.

“Landscape architects have a unique opportunity to address decarbonization,” Wickham said. “Sustainability is in our DNA, and these guides are vital tools for firms like ours to continue pushing the industry forward.”

Building on the publication, Hinojosa and Wickham co-presented at the national ASLA 2024 Conference on Landscape Architecture, where they explored the intersection of decarbonization strategies and carbon accounting.

Access ASLA’s three new decarbonization resources free of charge:

• “Decarbonizing the Design Process: A Phase-by-Phase Approach for Landscape Architects”
• “Decarbonizing Specifications: Guidelines for Landscape Architects, Specifiers, and Contractors”
• “Navigating Environmental Product Data: A Guide for Landscape Architects, Specifiers, and Industry Partners”