Green Building Research and Evaluation

Communities across the country are making commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Energy consumption in buildings accounts for 60% of greenhouse gas emissions in the Chicago area. CNT’s LEED-Platinum building is being used as a model and demonstration project to help others learn more about how to build the next generation of energy-efficient, cost-effective buildings. CNT’s Green Building Research and Evaluation program can help local governments provide property owners with the information and tools they need to stabilize operating costs and improve the environment.

CNT Energy offers a variety of green building services, including green building code reviews to assist municipalities in including green building components in existing building and zoning codes; green building permitting programs designed to provide incentives to developers; analysis of community building trends and recommendations for targeting green building initiatives for both publicly and privately built structures. Communities are offered customized green building guides; training programs for permit review staff, inspectors, and code compliance staff; educational materials for developers, builders, contractors and homeowners; and tools for tracking progress and evaluating the effectiveness of green building initiatives.

Cities can use these innovative programs to assure that new construction and rehabbed buildings are cost-effective, provide environmental benefits, and reduce local greenhouse gas emissions.

Learn more about CNT’s building at http://building.cnt.org/.

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Publications

Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Chicago: Emissions Inventories and Reduction Strategies for Chicago and its Metropolitan Region

By CNT: Jennifer McGraw, Peter Haas, Linda Young, and Anne Evens. February 28, 2010. (.pdf, 185.7kb)

Capital Bill signing by Governor Pat Quinn Remarks

By Jacky Grimshaw, CNT. July 13, 2009. (.pdf, 42.6kb)

Equity Express Fact Sheet

By CNT. June 24, 2009. (.pdf, 189.0kb)

More Energy publications...

News

January 22nd, 2010 USGBC-Chicago and CNT Recruiting LEED Projects for Research Study

The U.S. Green Building Council –Chicago Chapter and its partners are recruiting up to 25 more projects for analysis in year 2 of the Regional Green Building Case Study Project. This is one of a few post-occupancy studies with such a broad scope of metrics and is among the first to collect multiple years of data and provide ongoing analysis to participants.

October 26th, 2009 Illinois LEED Study Released by USGBC- Chicago Chapter

Today the U.S. Green Building Council – Chicago Chapter released a year-one report of the post-occupancy performance of LEED buildings in Illinois. CNT is one of five project partners and performed the project’s data collection and analysis.

October 23rd, 2009 A New Data Center to Strategically Position the Region for Federal Funding

In September, CNT conducted the first of three workshops kicking off the Municipal Energy Profile Program (MEPP) for the 7-county Chicago region. There a forum was created for technical questions and best practices on how different communities are planning to spend their Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program federal money, and received input on how CNT can best help municipalities. The workshop helped set the stage for developing a regional partnership to address energy efficiency and participate in the competitive round of federal funding.


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Energy

Projects

Climate Change Analysis

CNT Energy is part of a team assessing the carbon dioxide emissions of Chicago and the region, and developing strategies to reduce emissions.

Regional Energy Planning

Building off the Kane County Energy Plan, CNT Energy advocates the critical importance of planning for the changing energy environment and infrastructure needs in growing communities.

Green Building Research and Evaluation

CNT’s LEED-Platinum building is being used as a model and demonstration project to help others learn more about how to build the next generation of energy-efficient, cost-effective buildings.

Illinois Smart Grid Initiative

The ISGI is a public-private working group formed to engage Illinoisans in examining the nature and potential benefits of a modernized electric grid, and to map a policy path for achieving those benefits for consumers and the economy.

Tools

Building Performance Monitoring

Visualizing CNT is a Web-based tool to display energy use intensity, carbon emissions and water use.

Real-Time Energy Pricing

CNT Energy is a leader in developing and implementing successful real-time energy pricing programs for residential customers. We provide information, services, and tools to help manage electricity costs. For more information, see:

Cook County Energy Savers

This is a one-stop shop for owners of multi-family rental buildings with suggestions for energy efficient construction strategies and appliances for their properties.