When Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable established the first area trading post, the inhabitants had no idea what was blowing into that windy land. Today, the “Windy City” has the third largest population in the United States, and is a major transporation hub and business center. It even dyes the river that flows through its heart a perfect shade of green to celebrate each St. Patrick’s day.

However, Chicago is now looking to ‘go green’ in a completely different sense. In its environmental quest, the city has created a new initiative known as the Chicago Green Office Challenge. Created by the city of Chicago and ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability USA, this program has as one of its core strategies to reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions 25% by 2020.

What is the Challenge?
According to the Chicago Climate Action Plan...”The Green Office Challenge is an invitation to property management firms and major tenants in the central business district to “green” their buildings. Both parties are challenged to meet energy efficiency, water conservation, and waste minimization goals through capital improvements and behavioral challenges. The vision is to develop a collective sense of action backed by a suite of support tools and Mayoral recognition.”

How does  the Challenge work?
The Chicago Green Office Challenge is a friendly competition for commercial property managers and office tenants, that acknowledges participants for their achievements in greening their operations through Mayoral and media recognition. The Green Office Challenge helps participants move down the path towards environmental sustainability, and, in some cases, towards third-party green building certification through the ENERGY STAR and LEED™ rating systems.

Success turns into more success
As result of this program’s impact and the achievements already attained throughout the city, the Challenge is being expanded into 4 other local governments in Charleston, SC; Nashville, TN; San Diego/Port of San Diego, CA and Arlington County, VA.  ICLEI also announced it is developing a program that can be put into action by other local governments across the country.

50 Ways
Once registered, the Green Office Challenge invites office tenants in Chicago’s central business district to increase their environmental performance in the areas of outreach, energy conservation, waste reduction, cleaner transportation choices, and property management engagement. Each of the 50 ways is assigned a number of points available for an affirmative response.

If you're interested in the Challenge coming to your community, find out if your local government is an ICLEI member by visiting http://www.icleiusa.org/about-iclei/members/member-list. ICLEI members are giving the tools and technical assistance necessary to guide them through the implementation process of their own Challenge. A guidebook is also being created for members later this year. For more information on membership contact membership-usa@iclei.org.

Want to stay up-to-date with the latest about Chicago’s Green Office Challenge? Check out their Facebook page.