How Chicago Continues to Get Greener

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By Dave Lifton (@daveeatschicago)

Chicago grew big and powerful through industry, serving the country with factories, railroads, steel mills, and the Union Stock Yards. But it also came at a price. Soot and smoke filled the air, obscuring downtown’s buildings with a grime and—with the stockyards’ slaughterhouses playing no small role in this—creating a foul stench. At least as far back as 1874, the Chicago Tribune was reporting on the effects of pollution, both on the health of its residents and the beauty of the city.

Perhaps even worse, the Chicago River was essentially a sewer, transporting human, industrial, and animal waste (again, the stockyards) into Lake Michigan, our source of drinking water. After numerous outbreaks of dysentery, cholera, and typhoid, the 28-mile Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal, opened in 1900, reversed the flow of the river and sent the sludge downstream.

All that led to the city’s longstanding reputation for being dirty and smog-filled. However, the second half of the 20 th century saw the deindustrialization of the city and environmental laws enacted at all levels of government to improve the situation. Although Chicago still lags behind other major cities for air quality, there are numerous plans in place to bring it up to speed, and there are some areas where it leads the nation.

In 2018, the National Green Building Adoption Index reported that Chicago had the highest percentage of energy-efficient office buildings among the 30 largest American cities. Nearly 70% of all office buildings are either LEED certified, held an EPA Energy Star label, or both.

Four years later, the city updated its Climate Action Plan (CAP), which was first written in 2008, setting a goal to reduce carbon emissions by 62% by 2040. The purpose is to not only reduce the effects of climate change, but to improve the health of residents in neighborhoods that had histories of disinvestment.

One key milestone of the CAP was met at the start of 2025, when all city buildings—more than 400 total—switched to 100% renewable energy. The move is expected to reduce Chicago’s carbon footprint by 290,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, similar to taking 62,000 cars off the road.

Chicago has also taken steps to reduce the number of “urban heat islands,” areas where it feels significantly hotter than the recorded temperature during the summer due to the lack of trees and vegetation. These tend to be low-income neighborhoods, and the effect is a disproportionate number of heat-related illnesses and deaths and increased electrical consumption among the city’s most vulnerable residents. The CAP recommends planting 75,000 trees over a five-year period in underserved communities.

In 2023, Chicago launched a public composting program by placing receptacles in 20 neighborhoods throughout the city. Residents are encouraged to drop their food scraps to reduce the amount of landfill and reduce greenhouse gas emission while enriching soil. The carts are equipped with latches so as to prevent attracting animals. The city also offers free backyard composting bins to those who live in single family homes or apartment buildings with four or fewer units.

That same year, the Chicago Cycling Strategy was implemented with a goal of adding 150 miles of bike lanes to city streets over a period of a few years. The new lanes are designed to connect existing routes that will help make biking safer and bring low-stress biking to 70% of the population.

It seems to have had an impact. In 2024, a study by the Chicago Department of Transportation revealed that biking had increased 119% over a four-year period, the biggest growth among the 10 largest cities in the U.S. As of April 2025, there are 478 miles of bike lanes, 165 of which are protected or buffered to protect cyclists from motorists, and 55 that are off-street (including the 18.5-mile Lakefront Trail).

Probably the most ambitious eco-friendly project in Chicago has been going on for 50 years, and it’s practically hidden from view. Since 1975, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago has been constructing a massive system of tunnels and reservoirs that will hold up to 17.5 billion gallons of overflowed stormwater and sewage. The water will be diverted to reclamation plants, where it will be cleaned and released into local waterways. When completed (estimated in 2029), the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) will save more than $180 million a year in flood damage and protect 1.5 million structures.

CAP and TARP are perfect examples of how Chicago has learned from the mistakes of its industrial past as it points to a greener future.