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Illinois was the No. 2 state for green building in 2022, second only to Massachusetts, according to an annual ranking released Tuesday by the U.S. Green Building Council.
The state was No. 1 in 2021, and has ranked in the top 10 every year since the rankings began in 2010. Illinois is the only state to have topped the list five times, according to U.S. Green Building Council managing director of U.S. market transformation and development Rhiannon Jacobsen.
“Illinois continues to be very strong,” said Jacobsen.
The ranking is based on LEED-certified gross square footage per capita added over the course of a year. Developed by the Green Building Council, LEED is the most widely used green building rating program in the world. It takes into account factors such as air quality, safety and energy efficiency.
In 2022, 91 Illinois buildings were LEED-certified, for a total of over 44.5 million square feet or 3.48 square feet per capita. Office buildings, apartment buildings, government buildings and schools were among those certified.
Illinois’ success is partly due to an early start. The fourth project ever to obtain LEED certification, in 2001, was the Bachelor Enlisted Quarters at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in North Chicago. In 2007, Chicago hosted the high-profile Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, which drew a record crowd of 23,000.
Jacobsen said some of the credit for Illinois’ record goes to strong policies and advocacy. She cited the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act of 2021, which charts a path to 100% clean energy by 2050. The act stresses job training and fair distribution of the benefits of the energy transition.
“Illinois has really got kind of a unique standing with the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which some observers have called the most equitable climate law in America,” Jacobsen said.
She also pointed to a strong market for sustainable buildings and leadership from businesses and organizations.
Illinois saw 91 projects LEED-certified in 2022, up a bit from 2021, when 87 projects were certified.
“It’s not that Illinois did worse. The bar got higher,” Jacobsen said.
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