Chicago Sustainable/Green Buildings & Parks Info Resources About LEED Certification The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable Green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria. LEED is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance Green buildings. Commercial real estate programs exist for: • New Construction (LEED-NC) • Existing Buildings Operations & Maintenance (LEED for Existing Buildings: O&M) • Core & Shell (LEED-CS) • Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in six key areas of human and environmental health: 1. sustainable sites 2. water efficiency 3. energy and atmosphere 4. materials and resources 5. indoor environmental quality 6. innovation and design Source : From the U.S. Green Building Council: w ww .usgbc.org
Chicago Center for Green Technology : http://tinyurl.com/qnuhx3 The Chicago Center for Green Technology is located at 445 North Sacramento Boulevard in Chicago. It is open to the public Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Center is closed on Sunday. Visitors are welcome to explore the public areas of the building and campus. Brochures for self-guided tours are available at the building. • A m odel for the nation. Chicago Green Tech is only the third building in the United States to be designed according to the LEED rating system using the highest standards of green technology available. It is the only one of the three that is a renovation of an existing building and the only one accessible by public transportation.