The Society of Garden + Landscape Designers (SGLD) has announced the launch of elemental, a revolutionary new design tool developed through collaboration with Nicholsons, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), the British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI), and The Landscape Institute (LI) - that helps create gardens and landscapes with a lower environmental impact.
The free-to-use web-based app will enable garden and landscape designers to assess and minimise the environmental impact of their projects, transforming sustainable design in the industry and helping designers to deliver better landscapes for climate and nature.
For years, landscape professionals have been encouraged to evaluate the ecological footprint of their designs, yet practical tools have been lacking. While various apps and academic carbon calculators exist, none have provided a comprehensive, user-friendly approach—until now. elemental is designed to make sustainable landscape design both accessible and achievable for professionals at all levels.
Image: Garden designed by Jilayne Rickards MSGLD. Photo by Simon Bourne
Initially developed by Nicholsons for the RHS show gardens, elemental has evolved through extensive collaboration with leading industry bodies, including SGLD, BALI, LI, and the RHS. Over the past year, representatives from each of the organisations have worked together to refine the tool, ensuring it meets the needs of landscape designers and architects across the industry - from private domestic garden design to landscape architecture in the public realm.
At its core, elemental evaluates six key sustainability pillars helping designers make informed, eco-conscious decisions:
• Materials Management
• Soils
• Emissions
• Biodiversity
• Water and Air
• People
With the goal of supporting designers at any stage of their sustainability journey, elemental provides guidance, resources, and video training to help them design more sustainably. The tool enables designers to assess multiple aspects of a scheme simultaneously, making strategic adjustments to improve environmental performance. SGLD members will have free access to the platform, along with dedicated training programmes.
John Wyer FSGLD Vice-Chair of the SGLD said “The industry has been crying out for something like this. What’s really exciting is that elemental looks at multiple different aspects of a scheme at the same time. This means the designer can use it as a tool to reduce the impact on multiple fronts, tweaking the design here and there to gradually improve the score. I think it will be a game changer.”
elemental is supported by The Association of Professional Landscapers (APL) and The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA).
View and download the app here.
