Chicago, Illinois

This facility features the following green attributes:
Green Power
ENERGY STAR

Region 5 Office

Total Facility Area: 418,569 rentable square feet (EPA share)
Estimated Personnel: 1,558 EPA personnel
Energy Consumption: 30, 856,004,457 Btu per year (EPA share)
Btu per Rentable Square Foot per Year: 73,718
Water Consumption: not available

All energy and water data are reported as of FY 2004.

Description

EPA's Region 5 Headquarters is located in the Metcalfe Federal Building in Chicago, Illinois, and oversees EPA operations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, and 35 Tribal Nations. The Agency has implemented a number of programs and procedures to minimize its environmental impact.

Unique Environmental Features

Energy Conservation

With the installation of a comprehensive green lighting system, the Metcalfe Federal Building was awarded the ENERGY STAR^® label in 1999 for its continued efforts to increase energy efficiency. In 2007, the Metcalfe Building received the ENERGY STAR label again with a performance rating of 80 out of 100, an improvement over the rating of 77 received by the facility in 1999.

Green Power

In FY 2008, EPA continued to support the renewable energy market by purchasing green power through two separate Agencywide blanket contracts for a combined total of 380 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable energy certificates (RECs), or “green tags,” from Sterling Planet , Luminant Energy Company , and FPL Energy . These purchases will allow EPA to offset 100 percent of electricity consumption for FY 2008 and the first half of FY 2009 at the Region 5 Office, as well as many other EPA facilities across the Agency. Procured through the Defense Energy Support Center, these contracts support renewable energy generation from wind and biomass resources in nine states.
In June 2006, EPA signed a contract to acquire 110 million kilowatt hours (kWh) in renewable energy certificates (RECs), or "green tags," from 3 Phases Energy Services over the period September 1, 2006 through September 30, 2007. This blanket purchase supplied EPA with enough RECs through FY 2007 to offset 100 percent of annual electricity consumption at the Region 5 Office and other EPA facilities not covered by separate green power contracts. Procured through the Defense Energy Support Center , this contract supported wind power generation in California, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
In August 2005, EPA entered into a one-year contract with Basin Electric Power Company (procured by the Defense Energy Support Center) to purchase 9 million kWh of green power annually for its Region 5 Office in the form of RECs. This contract supports the generation of renewable energy from wind farms in South Dakota and North Dakota, and will offset 100 percent of EPA's electricity consumption in the Region 5 Office.
In October 2000, a solar array was installed on the roof of the Metcalfe Federal Building. EPA helped install this 10-kilowatt photovoltaic system at the Region 5 Headquarters facility in an effort to demonstrate self-generated renewable energy systems and educate the public on emerging technologies.

Waste Reduction and Recycling

In 2002, EPA initiated a closed-loop paper recycling program for GSA's multi-tenant Metcalfe Federal Building. EPA and the U.S. General Services Administration have worked to increase the building's recycling rate by 200 percent, keeping a majority of paper products out of the waste stream. Known as "Anything-That-Rips," this system allows EPA to recycle its paper and have it manufactured into recycled tissue and towels to be used at Region 5 facilities.
For more Region 5 best practices, see the More Green Practices Waste Reduction and Recycling page.

For More Information

Hedrick E. Partee (partee.hedrick@epa.gov)
536 South Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60605
Phone: (312) 353-4190

Web site: www.epa.gov/region5