Chicago throws down: Green Office Challenge is on

Why so grim? Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley’s press conference cronies look like they just witnessed the killing of the world’s last panda bear. Instead the City of Chicago, ComEd and various Chicago business leaders launched two environmental projects, the Green Office Challenge and Earth Hour, at the OFS Brands showroom in the Merchandise Mart.
The Green Office Challenge encourages tenants and operators of high-rise office buildings to save energy, increase recycling and water efficiency and reduce paper consumption. OFS Brand’s office furniture showroom has improved its recycling program for office materials including paper, electronics, light bulbs and construction materials, which is diverting 748 tons of materials from landfills per year. As a result, the showroom has achieved LEED Gold Certification.
Earth Hour to be held on March 28 is a nationwide event in which lights are turned off for one hour to call attention to the fight against global climate change. In 2008 more than 2.8 million Chicago-area residents turned out their lights for Earth Hour, which resulted in a 7 percent reduction in electricity usage during that time. Represent!
According to Daley, more environmentally efficient office buildings are critical to helping Chicago reduce its impact on the planet’s changing climate.
Special note: No pandas were harmed during the writing of this blog.