Stone in the Age of Green: Mitigating Environmental Impacts of Stone Use - 1.25 PDH (LA CES/HSW) / 1.0 GBCI SITES-Specific CE

Stone is overlooked as a sustainable construction material. It is durable, recyclable, nontoxic, easily maintained, and has lower embodied energy. Still, over 50% of dimension stone is imported, and current quarrying practices produce substantial waste. This session examines stone's sustainability scorecard, design opportunities, and the industry's environmental practices.

The GBCI course ID for this course is 920026650, providing SITES-specific CE hours required to maintain SITES AP credentials. Participants will need to pass the exam at the end of the presentation in order to receive a certificate of completion. Participants will need to self-report CE hours through their credentials account on https://sitesonline.usgbc.org.

Learning objectives:

Understand the environmental and human health impacts of dimension stone quarrying, fabrication, use and transportation.
Identify ways to design with dimension stone to take advantage of its inherent aesthetics while also considering its cost, performance, durability, and environmental footprint.
Compare the benefits and challenges of sustainable stone specifications.
Understand the new Natural Stone Council Stone Sustainability Standard, and the way it supports LEED and SITES credits.

Meg Calkins, FASLA, SITES AP

Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning

North Carolina State University

Meg Calkins, FASLA, SITES AP, is a Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at North Carolina State University. Meg’s scholarship focuses on the environmental and human health impacts of site construction details and materials. She is the author of the book "Materials for Sustainable Sites" and editor of the "Sustainable Sites Handbook". She is currently writing a book with the working title of "Details and Material for Resilient Sites: A Carbon Positive Approach" (Routledge 2025). Meg has taken an active leadership role in development and implementation of the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) since 2003.

Laura Solano, FASLA

Partner

Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc.

Laura is a Principal at MVVA and is widely regarded as an expert in landscape technology and sustainability. Since 1992 her leadership and knowledge have informed the design, delivery, and performance practices for MVVA’s work. Laura lectures and writes on innovations that stress the creative overlap between technology and design. She was an Assoc. Prof. in Practice at Harvard’s GSD, contributed to the soil portion of SITES, was on the executive board for the LAF, was honored as a Distinguished Alumna at The Ohio State University, and is a Fellow of the ASLA.