An exploratory study of the green office practices in landscape architecture firms

As landscape architects are uniquely situated to assume a leadership position around sustainability in offices, the goal of this study was to better understand if, and why, they have adopted sustainable practices in their firms. A qualitative study utilizing an in-depth interview format was created based on the ten principles of the World Wildlife Fund's sustainability program. A random sample of 50 firms in the Greater Toronto Area was generated from the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects and were contacted. Six representatives from these firms agreed to be interviewed for approximately an hour each. Following the interviews, responses were transcribed and a content analysis conducted. The results indicated two broad themes: the opportunities and barriers to implementing sustainable office practices. The opportunities for and constraints against these suggest that there may be potential to increase the sustainability of professional offices through educational programs and the creation of a program to access expertise and support.