Landscape design plays an important role in meeting the City of Toronto’s climate goals. Reducing embodied carbon in materials and construction, protecting existing trees and soils, and increasing green infrastructure all can help lower emissions while strengthening resilience to heat, flooding, and extreme weather.
The Low Carbon Landscape Design Guide is a practical resource to help landscape architects reduce carbon in site design and construction. The guide explains key carbon concepts, outlines Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tools, and provides general strategies for lowering emissions through design choices, materials, soils, planting, and maintenance. Case studies are used to demonstrate how the principles of low carbon design can be applied to a project.