Landscape architecture firm MNLA has joined 25 CEOs representing the world’s largest and most influential landscape architecture firms in releasing a public letter committing their firms to achieve the goals laid out in the American Society of Landscape Architects Climate Action Plan. Most notably, this includes a commitment to make landscape architecture a zero-emissions profession by 2040. This pledge is a natural extension of MNLA’s 30 years of designing spaces that it said “reinvigorate, heal and empower communities through connected and purposeful ecological design solutions.”
“As landscape architects, we are uniquely positioned to bridge the needs of nature and people,” said Signe Nielsen, founding principal of MNLA. “Our profession’s core mission is to design spaces that restore ecological balance while empowering communities to engage in the process. The ASLA Climate Action Plan advances our commitment to designing landscapes that are resilient to climate challenges. By integrating nature-based solutions, we create environments that mitigate climate impacts while ensuring communities have a hand in shaping the future of their neighborhoods. Together, we can advance projects that both heal the earth and amplify local voices in the fight for a climate-positive future.”
The letter, signed by 26 CEOs, expresses key business commitments.
“We publicly and expressly endorse, support, and commit to the goals articulated in the American Society of Landscape Architects Climate Action Plan, which sets specific and extraordinarily ambitious goals for the profession of landscape architecture to become a zero-emission profession by 2040, including in our business operations, designed landscapes, and the materials and products used in our work,” the letter said.
The letter signed by these firms acknowledges the unique role of landscape architects as stewards of land and water, designing climate-resilient spaces that address the pressing challenges of biodiversity loss, emissions reduction and extreme weather events, MNLA observed
“Leaders of more than two dozen top-tier firms that influence billions of dollars in infrastructure spending and millions of acres of land have just pledged to make their profession zero emissions by 2040—this is a really big deal,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, CEO of the American Society of Landscape Architects. “These are people who have the skills and imagination to make it happen: They’re already designing resilient waterfronts, parks that soak up stormwater, and urban forests that take greenhouse gasses out of the atmosphere and cool our cities. Landscape architects know how to get it done. Every sector of the economy has to tackle climate resilience, and landscape architects will do their part.”
