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 worldās seventh LEED Platinum city: Chicago.
In August, Chicago ranked as the countryās greenest city by the Green Building Adoption Index for the second year in a row. Approximately 70% of itās space is green certified. According to the 2017 Energy Benchmarking report, Chicagoās largest buildings cut emissions by almost 20% over the past two years.
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See Also:Ā Chicagoās new flagship McDonaldās supersizes the sustainability features
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Chicagoās 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.
āChicago has not only committed to bold environmental and sustainability goals, but is now delivering on those commitments, leading to real impact across the city,ā said Mahesh Ramanujam, President and CEO at USGBC and GBCI. āMayor Emanuel and the city are proving that improving sustainability and increasing economic growth go hand-in-hand.ā
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