Cook County - LEED Requirement for County Buildings

Summary

In 2002, Cook County enacted an ordinance requiring all new county buildings and all retrofitted county buildings to be built to LEED standards. Specifically, all newly constructed buildings and all buildings scheduled for capital improvement must be built to the LEED Green Building Rating System Certification requirements, and all retrofit projects must meet LEED Certification for Existing Buildings. All buildings must set a goal of obtaining 8 or more points in the LEED Energy and Atmosphere category.  Lastly, new construction and major renovation projects must incorporate bird-safe building materials and design features. In 2014, the Cook County Board of Commissioners approved the Building Energy Benchmarking Ordinance for the County’s government building portfolio.

The 2023 Benchmark Report lays out the following 5 goals for county properties.

• Carbon Neutral by 2050
• 30% water use reduction by 2025
• 80% waste diversion rate by 2050
• Use technology to drive operating decision for buildings by providing access to building energy data to building engineers
• Create a positive impact on county residents by using survey information to better understand and plan for EV adoption