Keeling Curve

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To advance a proven framework that will transform how public and private entities develop their communities, campuses and real estate assets to address climate change and resiliency, there must be a financial case for the ROI (Return on Investment). That framework is the Sustainable SITES rating system, modeled on LEED, and released in 2014 after eight years of testing. However, the adoption of SITES is slow, primarily due to ROI questions. I will identify simple ROI methodologies that can be used by corporate, professionals, students, and educators to prove that sustainable site development makes economic sense.

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SITES projects are international and can be certified in any ecoregion on sites with or without buildings‚Äîfrom corporate campuses to streetscapes to homes and more. As of October 2020, nearly 200 projects and more than 772 million gross square feet of outdoor space have registered or certified with SITES. This includes 80 Certified and Pre-certified projects covering 38 U.S. states and Washington, DC and 14 countries (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Italy, Greece, and Spain). Because of the flexibility of the system, with its broad selection of credits, large and small (greater than 2000 SF) projects in any type of climate are eligible. From inner city to agricultural sites, the rating system is expansive in the possibility of its reach. 
As a female SITES leader, I help disseminate knowledge of a land development system which can provide ecosystem services to climate-vulnerable communities.

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