ASLA Reduced Its Greenhouse Gas Emissions by More Than Half in 2025

The organization continued to shrink its carbon footprint by purchasing renewable energy and reducing emissions from magazine printing and shipping

ASLA Center on Landscape Architecture, Washington, D.C. / © Halkin Mason Photography

By Jared Green

ASLA released the third annual assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions generated by its business operations. In 2025, the organization reduced its emissions by 56 percent against a 2022 baseline.

The assessment details the amounts and sources of emissions generated in 2025 by ASLA operations. This total includes electricity use, magazine printing and shipping, business travel, employee commuting, waste produced, and more. These emissions add up to 164 metric tonnes.

To put that in perspective, the average U.S. home produces approximately one metric tonne of greenhouse gas emissions monthly via its electricity use in regions where coal or gas generates power.

"We have committed to adapting our business operations so we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, and it is working. Our purchase of renewable energy, smart employee commuting incentives, and efforts to measure our waste have helped lower our footprint," said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen, Hon. ASLA.

Top sources of emissions reductions from 2024 to 2025 included:

• Purchasing 100 percent renewable energy for the ASLA Center on Landscape Architecture
• Reducing the number of pages in Landscape Architecture Magazine (LAM) and therefore the weight of shipped magazines
• Reducing building waste by 45 percent

2025 Operations Emissions

The 2025 assessment was developed in partnership with Honeycomb Strategies, a sustainability consulting company. The company and ASLA team cooperated to collect extensive and complete data on:

• Monthly business travel and commuting
• Energy used and waste generated from the ASLA Center for Landscape Architecture, the organization's LEED Platinum- and Well Gold-certified headquarters
• Printing, shipping, and online use for Landscape Architecture Magazine (LAM)

Of the total 164 metric tonnes, the ASLA headquarters emitted 39 tonnes, or 24 percent, and LAM emitted 126 tonnes, or 76 percent.

LAM reduced emissions from printing, distributing, and digital reading by 31 percent. Emissions from LAM printing decreased by 30 percent and distribution by 35 percent.

The calculations for the Center's emissions included such factors as electricity use, employee commuting, and business travel.

In 2025, the Center used 163,651 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity or 12.8 kWh per square foot - substantially below the 16.9 kWh average annual electricity consumption per square foot for administrative office space, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The LEED Platinum-certified Center features an intensive green roof that helps reduce energy used for heating and cooling. Studies show green roofs can reduce energy costs by 15-25 percent. ASLA also continued to purchase renewable energy credits (RECs), which resulted in zero emissions from energy use.

ASLA Center on Landscape Architecture, Washington, D.C. / © Halkin Mason Photography

ASLA employees commuted to the office 2,496 times, covering 44,868 miles, an 18 percent reduction in miles compared with 2024.

• 43 percent of trips by car, a slight increase from 40 percent of trips in 2024
• 49 percent by public transit (train, subway, bus), a slight decrease from 52 percent in 2024
• 6 percent by foot or bike, the same as in 2024

ASLA employees traveled 126,891 miles on business trips, a 40 percent increase over 2024.

• 95 percent of business travel was by plane, an increase of 3 percent from 2024.

The ASLA headquarters produced an estimated 3,974 pounds of waste.

• 45 percent reduction in overall waste.
• 52 percent of waste was recycled, an increase from 28 percent in 2024
• 48 percent of waste went to landfill, down from 72 percent in 2024.

ASLA Center on Landscape Architecture, Washington, D.C. / © Halkin Mason Photography

2025 Reduction Actions

As the 2025 data was collected, ASLA implemented strategies in 2025 and beyond:

• Weighed waste on a daily basis
• Continued to reduce size of Landscape Architecture Magazine (LAM)
• Continued to promote benefits and incentives for low-carbon commuting
• Continued to encourage train travel for shorter business trips
• Reduced catering of ASLA hosted events

To empower other organizations and companies to make these changes, ASLA published Towards Zero Emission Business Operations. The guide is designed to help landscape architecture firms of all sizes navigate the transition to zero-emission offices more easily. It outlines more than 110 actions landscape architecture firms can implement to reduce their business and project greenhouse gas emissions by 50 to 65 percent by 2030 and achieve zero emissions by 2040.