Chicago Sustainability - A New Office of the Mayor

The City of Chicago, under the leadership of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, is embarked in a comprehensive and ambitious sustainability plan. Mayor Emanuel's sustainability vision is to create the institutional opportunities for citizen 's sustainability practices. He said: "I want Chicago to be the greenest city in the world, and I am committed to fostering opportunities for Chicagoans to make sustainability a part of their lives and their experience in the city." 

Chicago is certainly among some of the greenest cities in the world, and with some of the new government projects coming up, the future of Chicago’s sustainability looks bright. The city of Chicago’s sustainability are focused on nine categories: water, air and natural resources, energy, retrofit Chicago, waste and recycling, green buildings, transportation, business and permits, and climate action. In some of these areas, Chicago shines, where in others, it falls short of other major cities.
 
One area in which Chicago really shines is Air & Natural Resources. Chicago is home to more than 8,100 acres of parks, the most in the nation. In addition to its parks, Chicago also has many rooftop gardens. Chicago, which has over four million square feet of rooftop gardens, is the first city to have the roof of its City Hall converted into an eco-friendly garden. The benefits of doing this include lower air-conditioning costs and more controlled storm drainage.

The recently created office of sustainability is a catalyst for working with city programs, departments, businesses and nonprofits to make Chicago a greener city and a quality living community for future generations. Check their work at ChicagoSustainability.org and follow these links on their priorities and goals.

Water	Air & Natural Resources	Energy
Retrofit Chicago	Waste & Recycling	Green Buildings
Transportation	Business & Permits	Climate Action