For the third year in a row, Illinois has ranked first nationwide in green building efforts. A recently released report by the U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit coalition of building industry leaders, ranked states by analyzing each in terms of square feet of LEED certified space per resident.

The LEED rating system grades projects in five green design categories, including sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources and indoor environmental quality. Throughout last year, Illinois certified 161 LEED projects representing nearly 44 million square feet of real estate. A list of the larger LEED-certified projects include the Virgin Hotel in Chicago, Chase Tower in Chicago, the NU Technological Institute in Evanston and the S&C Electric Building #14 in Chicago. 

Learn more:
What does LEED certification mean?