Concluding a year-long global convening of cross-sector thought leaders, the Institute and partners released the Nature Positive Buildings, Cities & Infrastructure Pledge.
Seattle, WA — September 2, 2026 — The Biomimicry Institute today released the Nature Positive Buildings, Cities & Infrastructure Pledge, a shared public commitment to nature in the built environment developed over a year of collaboration with cross-sector global leaders. The Pledge is now open for signatures. The Institute and its partners are calling for at least 100 organizations and individuals to sign by September 23, 2026.
The built environment is responsible for approximately 50% of raw material extraction, and is one of the leading drivers of habitat loss and biodiversity decline worldwide. The sector has not adequately acknowledged this, and it is not taking sufficient action.
“The sector has solutions. What it has lacked is a shared commitment and knowledge exchange,” says Amanda Sturgeon, CEO of the Biomimicry Institute. “The Pledge changes that. We are urging the built environment sector to stand behind a common vision for what nature-positive means, and to begin building the shared alliances, policies, resources and capacity that will make the vision real.”
Grounded in the principle that humans are a part of nature and nothing we build exists outside the living system that supports all life, the Pledge offers five declarations: designing as nature; measurable nature-positive outcomes and accountability; regeneration through the built environment; bioregional and longview thinking; and ecological performance that benefits everyone. It draws on the lens of biomimicry—looking to nature to solve some of humanity’s greatest issues—and closes with a shared commitment: “We look to nature as mentor, model, and measure.”
Participants in the inaugural Co-Lab cohort reflected on the year of work and what the Pledge means for their fields:
“As we find ourselves nearly 30 years into the modern green building movement, the time is ripe for an even broader integrated approach, with “nature positive” solutions as a universal inspiration for the reimagination of our cities and communities at a global scale,” said David Goldberg, FAIA, President of Mithun. “Thank you Biomimicry Institute for leading this charge! We can’t wait to see the positive results of the Co-Lab over the next decade and beyond.”
“As we find ourselves nearly 30 years into the modern green building movement, the time is ripe for an even broader integrated approach, with “nature positive” solutions as a universal inspiration for the reimagination of our cities and communities at a global scale,” said David Goldberg, FAIA, President of Mithun. “Thank you Biomimicry Institute for leading this charge! We can’t wait to see the positive results of the Co-Lab over the next decade and beyond.”
“A shared commitment to Nature in the built environment can change more than the way our cities look and perform,” Chris Sharples AIA, Founding Principal, SHoP Architects. “It can change how people feel, live, and connect within them, creating environments of beauty that are more joyful and resilient.”
To read and sign the Pledge, visit: biomimicry.org/buildings-cities-infrastructure-pledge/. The Pledge will remain open for signatures through the end of 2026.
On September 23, 2026, the Institute will host an event during NY Climate Week to bring together signatories, Co-Lab participants, and built environment leaders and launch an on-going Alliance to further the commitments in the pledge. Details and sign up can be found here: https://luma.com/svzyf71g
Signatories at the time of this press release
Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance
Sustainable SITES Initiative® (SITES®)
Green Business Certification Inc.™ (GBCI®)
Bio Studio
COOKFOX Architects
SHoP Architects
WRNS Studio
earthwise design
U.S. Green Building Council®
Exploration Architecture
HKS
International WELL Building Institute
Miller Hull
Living Future
Mithun
Second Nature Architecture + Design
Matt McMahon
Marco Peterle
Chris Sharples
Danielle Pieranunzi
David Goldberg, FAIA
Leon Rost
Mary Davidge
Robin Grossinger
Julie Hiromoto
Illya Azaroff
Clark Brockman
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About the Pledge
The Nature Positive Buildings, Cities & Infrastructure Pledge is a shared public commitment to advancing a nature-positive built environment, developed by the members of The Biomimicry Institute’s year-long Co-Lab. Grounded in the principle that humans are a part of nature and nothing we build exists outside the living system that supports all life, the Pledge calls on organizations and individuals across architecture, engineering, development, investment, and city planning to commit to designing as nature, achieving measurable nature-positive outcomes, regenerating living systems, thinking bioregionally and across generations, and sharing ecological benefits equitably. Signatories can read and sign at biomimicry.org/buildings-cities-infrastructure-pledge/
About the Biomimicry Institute
The Biomimicry Institute is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization co-founded by Janine Benyus in 2005, on a mission to create a nature positive, inclusive, and regenerative world inspired and guided by nature’s genius. Since its founding, the Institute has worked to spread the practice of looking to the solutions developed by living organisms over billions of years to provide insight and inspiration for effective, efficient, and sustainable innovations and approaches to addressing our own challenges. For more information, visit www.biomimicry.org.
Media Contact
Jen Fredette
The Biomimicry Institute
media@biomimicry.org
