Chicago on Friday released a progress report on its Sustainable Chicago 2015 Action Agenda. So one year after the city set 24 goals for itself, how are we doing?
Few goals are complete, but according to the city we’ve made some progress on all of them.
Energy efficiency is one standout. Illinois recently placed in the American Council for an energy Efficient Economy’s top 10 most energy-efficient states. Earlier this year the city passed an ordinance requiring large buildings to report their energy usage, focusing on the 1 percent of buildings that make up roughly 20 percent of the city’s energy use by buildings.
Transportation was another standout, led by two key projects: Divvy bikesharing and the rails-to-trails project formerly known as the Bloomingdale Trail (The 606). But the city also touted progress on its goal to green Chicago’s airports, citing the launch of a consolidated rental car facility at Midway. A car rental facility, though a logistical boon cutting vehicle emissions from shuttle buses, might not seem the best icon of green transportation. But Chicago-based United Airlines made a big push this year to investigate biofuels suitable for its planes—a move that could bode well for an industry typically called out for high carbon pollution. The city also gave itself plenty of credit for its plan to make the riverfront “Chicago’s second shoreline.”
