The 2,216 square foot Chipotle Mexican Grill in Gurnee Mills, Illinois is an example of LEED retail and was granted LEED Platinum certification on May 18, 2009. For LEED retail, the maximum possible points you can receive is 71; Chipotle received an astounding 53. The following is a breakdown of how Chipotle received its points: 10 out of 16 for sustainable sites, 4 out of 5 for water efficiency, 13 out of 17 for energy and atmosphere, 7 out of 13 for materials and resources, 14 out of 15 for indoor environmental quality, and 5 out of 5 for innovation and design.
Overall, this particular Chipotle is the first stand-alone restaurant to receive LEED Platinum certification. When designing the Gurnee Mills Chipotle, two main goals were stressed: increasing energy efficiency and to install an onsite renewable energy source. Since Lake Michigan is in close vicinity and the surroundings are fairly windy, Chipotle partnered with Chicago to build a 6 kwh wind turbine, which would be used to power the lighting and other needs in the restaurant.
Also, the project expects to increase water savings by 43 percent and increase outdoor water savings by 100 percent through the installation of a 2,500 gallon cistern to collect rainwater.
Overall, the project estimates that energy savings will decrease by 33 percent, water savings by 43 percent, and 86 percent of construction waste would be diverted from landfills.
