These are tough times for the environment. The old solutions don’t work any longer, and there are no simple answers. Buildings account for 39 percent of the country’s total energy use, but most American’s are unaware. And the outcries of environmental visionaries, designers, engineers, and scientists have not brought change fast enough.

Our 2010 Sustainable Design Survey of A/E/C leaders tabulates the activities and opinions of the most successful design firms:

• The professional organizations they think are best deploying resources with regard to sustainability issues
• Their satisfaction with their own firm's progress toward green design
• The percentage of their firm's work that is environmentally responsible
• How they've changed their personal and work habits to reduce their carbon footprint
• The most admired individuals, firms, and supplier companies as sustainability role models
• And more!

Also in this issue are in-depth articles from which readers will learn:

• What are the quantitative results of sustainability efforts to date?
• Green growth relies on public policy
• Why LEED ratings are like the American’s with Disabilities Act
• People, culture, and community are essential aspects of sustainability
• How to leverage a green business model
• The value of authenticity
• In a lackluster economy, greater demands fall at the top of the org chart