The Gurnee Chipotle sucessfully achieved LEED® Silver Certification by opening day, and is now among the first LEED®-Certified restaurants in the nation. In addition to the wind turbine, the building includes green construction materials including fly-ash in the concrete. Fly-ash, a byproduct of coal combustion that is usually disposed of as waste, is used to strengthen the concrete and make it more durable.

The thick concrete panels of the old warehouse were ripped away and replaced with windows, creating an open, very light-driven, contemporary structure like sitting in a terminal at O’Hare Airport. The building was also equipped with an overhang protecting the glass walls from emitting too much light in the wrong areas. The orientation of the building takes advantage of morning sunlight. “I don’t really consider it a loss. We feel that considering this is the first Gold Certified Police building in the country, and that there were no renewable technology added to the building, we did very well.”

Come February, the non-profit ReBuilding Exchange will open its doors in the Brighton Park neighborhood, just a few blocks from the Kedzie Orange Line stop. The organization’s facility will serve as a clearinghouse for salvaged building supplies that will, among others, divert waste from landfills, conserve energy-intensive resources, create jobs for the underemployed and provide affordable materials to an underserved community.

In December 2005, the Village of Oak Park began construction on what will be the first LEED certified public works facility in the state of Illinois. Completed in September of 2007, the $26 million facility maintains an array of environmentally friendly features and systems, and is presently in the process of acquiring LEED Gold Certified rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. Green materials of the building include low-emission paints, adhesives, coatings, sealants and carpeting, while energy features include taking advantage of large windows for passive solar heat and installing an ultra-efficient HVAC system. What is more, the top of the building will be outfitted with a green roof.

Since 1877, the Pacific Garden Mission has been helping the homeless find a safe haven. The Pacific Garden Mission aims to get homeless men and women back on their feet and back into the working world. Last October, the mission relocated to a facility that combines the men’s and women’s into one, 156,000 square foot mission, located on 14th and Canal. The Mission will house 1,000 nightly occupants and serve food to 1,800 people over three shifts per meal.
In addition to being a socially responsible agency, the Mission is taking steps to make the new mission environmentally responsible as well.

The warm and caring people of the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation (JRC) in Evanston follow a line of thinking spoken in depth in the book of Genesis, which states that the children of Abraham must follow the code of Tikkun Olam, or repairing the world. They believe that it is their duty to improve the condition of the world which they have inherited. JRC’s commitment to Tikkun Olam is readily apparent in their LEED® Platinum certified congregation center on Dodge Avenue.