Walgreens opens its second LEED drug store

DEERFIELD, Ill. One of the nation’s largest drug store chains will celebrate the grand opening of the first drug store in Illinois to meet top environmental requirements for efficiency and design.

The new store in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood, near the intersection of California and Diversey, is designed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards – a certification granted only by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The Logan Square Walgreens is registered under the LEED Green Building Rating System. It will be reviewed by the USGBC and given a specific level of certification in four to six months.

The Logan Square Walgreens, nestled in an urban area right off the Kennedy Expressway, features a “green roof” with plants growing on it. The roof also has a white coating to help reduce heating and cooling costs. The store will save nearly 34,000 gallons of water a year with efficient water fixtures. During construction, 85% of waste was diverted from landfills. The site was a brownfield which was cleaned up and redeveloped for this project. Coolers, freezers and exterior signs all use LED lights, reducing energy use by 50% over fluorescent lighting. The store will save enough electricity to power more than five homes a year. In addition, there is special parking for hybrid vehicles, bike racks and nearby public transportation.

“It may look like a regular Walgreens from the outside, but once you take a closer look it really is green from the ground up,” said Walgreens district manager Steven DiLullo. “Customers can find informational signs inside that highlight these features so they can feel good about what we’re doing and where they shop.”

Walgreens officials and guests marked the grand opening of this eco-drugstore with a tree planting ceremony at 10 a.m. Wednesday, followed by a store tour.

This is the second LEED-registered Walgreens to open. The first opened in June in Mira Mesa, Calif. The next LEED registered Walgreens store is planned to open in Normal, Ill., early next year with two more locations to follow. The company’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint also include the use of solar panel systems on 74 of its locations in California, Connecticut, New Jersey and Oregon. For more information on Walgreens green efforts and commitment to corporate social responsibility, visit www.walgreens.com/responsibility.