Retrofit Chicago Initiative Makes Progress

CHICAGO—In June 2012, Mayor Rahm Emanuel unveiled his Retrofit Chicago’s Commercial Buildings Initiative, a voluntary effort by tenants, managers and owners of major commercial buildings to reduce energy use by 20% within the next 5 years. Fifteen months later, some of the participants have begun to report results and draw lessons they hope will make Chicago the most sustainable city in the country.

“The long-term goal of this is to make Chicago number one,” Luke Leung said at this week’s BUILDINGChicago and Greening the Heartland Conference. Leung is an architect with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP, located in the Railway Exchange Building at 224 S. Michigan, an 18-story class A office tower that is part of the initiative.