Chicago becomes seventh city in the world to achieve LEED for Cities Platinum certification

Last September, Washington, D.C. became the first LEED Platinum city in the world. Now, almost exactly one year later, the U.S. Green Building Council has just named the world’s seventh LEED Platinum city: Chicago.

In August, Chicago ranked as the country’s greenest city by the Green Building Adoption Index for the second year in a row. Approximately 70% of it’s space is green certified. According to the 2017 Energy Benchmarking report, Chicago’s largest buildings cut emissions by almost 20% over the past two years.

Chicago’s plans for the future include the implementation of the Chicago Energy Rating System, which will be the first of its kind in the U.S. The system will assign a zero- to four-star energy rating to all large properties that are subject to the benchmarking reporting requirements.

“Chicago has not only committed to bold environmental and sustainability goals, but is now delivering on those commitments, leading to real impact across the city,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, President and CEO at USGBC and GBCI. “Mayor Emanuel and the city are proving that improving sustainability and increasing economic growth go hand-in-hand.”

The new elements of the facility now include: efficient lighting with day-lighting controls and occupancy sensors, a high-efficiency HVAC system used in conjunction with a newly constructed thermal envelope to help reduce energy consumption, and the installation of low-flow fixtures to reduce water consumption.

The building is 27% more energy efficient than similar buildings, uses 21% less

| Feb 22, 2012

Siemens earns LEED certification for Maryland office

The Beltsville facility, which also earned the ENERGY STAR Label for energy performance, implemented a range of energy efficiency, water conservation and sustainable operations measures as part of the certification process.

| Feb 22, 2012

Suffolk awarded Boston post office renovation project

Renovation of art deco landmark will add 21,000 square feet of retail and 110 new parking spaces.

| Feb 20, 2012

Comment period for update to USGBC's LEED Green Building Program now open

This third draft of LEED has been refined to address technical stringency and rigor, measurement and performance tools, and an enhanced user experience.

Four types of sustainable roofing systems from Tremco Roofing and Building Maint

| Feb 17, 2012

Tremco Inc. headquarters achieves LEED Gold certification

Changes were so extensive that the certification is for new construction and not for renovation; officially, the building is LEED-NC.

| Feb 15, 2012

Code allowance offers retailers and commercial building owners increased energy savings and reduced construction costs

Specifying air curtains as energy-saving, cost-cutting alternatives to vestibules in 3,000-square-foot buildings and larger has been a recent trend among consulting engineers and architects.