Chicago Center for Green Technology – this was the first municipal building in the country to achieve the platinum LEED rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.

340 on the Park – Located at 375 E. Wacker Drive, it offers views of Lake Michigan and downtown highrises and hold the distinction of being the first LEED rated residential hi-rise tower in the Midwest. The building reclaims water for landscape use, has technologically advanced heating and cooling systems and participates in the iGo car sharing program.

The Merchandise Mart, built by retailer Marshall Fields in 1930, has a silver LEED rating. The building is considered by some measures to be the largest building in the world based on square-footage. It's slated for a green overhaul under a recently announced partnership between the city of Chicago and the Clinton Foundation, which has been partnering with cities to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

4227 S. Saint Lawrence St. - Single family home that can serve as a model for what can be accomplished in Chicago.

Mayor Richard M. Daley wanted a green roof for Chicago’s historic City Hall (circa 1911) and he got one, designed by landscape architects, Conservation Design Forum in Elmhurst, Illinois, in 2000. The green roof cools the large building and serves as a demonstration project for builders. Photo courtesy of Conservation Design Forum in Elmhurst, Illinois, landscape architects for the project.

111 S. Wacker – A hi-rise commercial building that makes extensive use of natural light and efficiencies of design. It is within one or two blocks of the elevated train and Metra train stations.

The world famous Sears Tower, for many years the tallest building in the world, is slated for a green overhaul under a recently announced partnership between the city of Chicago and the Clinton Foundation, which has been partnering with cities to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

An example of affordable housing built to green standards, Wentworth Commons, in the city’s Roseland neighborhood, provides 51 apartments for special needs residents and is one of only three special needs housing developments in the country to receive any type of LEED certification. It features solar panels, native plantings, reflective pavings to counter the Heat Island Effect, a high efficiency boiler and an air heat recovery system. Photo courtesy: GreenBean, the city of Chicago