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EQ Office has implemented the cove platform at Willis Tower in Chicago and plans further rollout this summer

Chicago CRE Gets Mixed Grades on Sustainability

Chicago ranks at No. 3 on CommercialCafe’s list of LEED-certified cities, with nearly 13% of its existing office and multifamily properties receiving the designation. Yet, Illinois’ largest metropolis comes in 30th overall out of 40 cities ranked on sustainability by CommercialCafe, due mainly to its high carbon emissions and its rather high ratio of coal and natural gas-fired electricity generation.

The Emanuel administration recognizes buildings as the number one source of greenhouse gas emissions in Chicago, and has rolled out the Retrofit Chicago program, which aims to “save green by going green,” CommercialCafe reported. Including municipal, commercial, and residential buildings, the project has so far increased the energy efficiency of roughly 54 million square feet of the city’s buildings.

Administrative efforts will be focused on energy and transportation, with a $2.6-billion grid modernization project underway, the creation of better bike lanes and plans for the city’s first fleet of electric buses.


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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).