Chicago Sustainable Development Policy: Points, Thresholds, and Submittal

Chicago’s Sustainable Development Policy uses a point system that requires covered projects to earn 25, 50, or 100 points by picking strategies from a menu covering energy, stormwater, bird protection, landscape, public health, transportation, waste, and water. The Department of Planning and Development administers the program, sets each project’s point tier, and verifies compliance before and after construction.¹

Does the Policy Apply to Your Project

The point requirement is triggered only when a project falls into one of five categories tied to city zoning action or financial assistance. The 2024 handbook lists them as:²

Projects requiring a Planned Development zoning designation under the Chicago Zoning Ordinance.
Projects subject to the Chicago Air Quality Ordinance.
Redevelopment agreements receiving at least $1 million in city assistance, including Tax Increment Financing and other DPD-administered funding.
Renovation projects receiving Class L property tax incentives for historic buildings.
Affordable multi-family housing with more than five units receiving financial assistance from the Department of Housing, including HOME loans, CDBG loans, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, and tax-exempt bonds.

Affordable housing does not get a pass. Multi-family affordable projects with city financial assistance face the same point requirements as any other covered project.³

How Many Points You Have to Earn

Your required point total depends on how DPD classifies the scope of work:²

New construction, or an addition that expands an existing building’s gross square footage by more than 50 percent: 100 points.
Substantial renovation, meaning new or upgraded building systems plus extensive exterior envelope repairs on work covering no more than 50 percent of the existing building’s square footage: 50 points.
Moderate renovation, meaning partial or minor system upgrades and minor envelope repairs: 25 points.

DPD makes the final call on which tier applies. Pin that classification down early. The gap between 25 and 50 points, or 50 and 100, can reshape a budget and force design changes if it surfaces late in review.

Where Points Come From

The 2024 menu spans eight categories, and point values per strategy range from 5 points for small items to 50 points for a top-tier certification. A few high-value strategies drive most project scorecards.

Bird Protection

Bird protection carries unusually heavy weight after the 2024 update, which responded to the Bird Friendly Design Ordinance that City Council passed in 2020. Basic bird protection earns 20 points and enhanced protection earns 30 points, among the highest single-strategy values on the menu.⁴

Energy

Energy strategies run from 5 to 30 points. Exceeding the Energy Transformation Code by 5 percent earns 20 points, and 10 percent earns 30 points. Full building electrification is also worth 30 points. On-site renewables scale with threshold, rooftop solar-ready construction is worth 5 points, and limiting glass facades to 40 percent of the building exterior earns 10 points.⁴

Landscape and Green Infrastructure

A green roof covering more than 50 percent of a rooftop earns 10 points; full coverage earns 20. Rooftop gardens or other productive landscapes earn 5 points, as do native landscaping and tree health measures. Naturalized river edges are worth 10 points, and an industrial landscaped buffer earns 10 points for projects in or near industrial zones.⁴

Public Health and Community Benefits

WELL Building Standard certification is worth 50 points on its own. Fitwel certification earns 30. Smaller items include air quality monitoring (10 points), indoor air quality improvements (5), cleaner construction equipment (5), community resiliency assets (5 to 15), and workforce development commitments (10).⁴

Stormwater, Transportation, Waste, and Water

Stormwater carries real weight: 100 percent on-site infiltration earns 40 points, and exceeding the stormwater ordinance by 50 percent earns 20. EV charging installation earns 5 to 10 points, Divvy bikeshare sponsorship earns 5, and enhanced bike parking earns 5. Waste diversion of 80 percent or more earns 5 to 10 points, and indoor water use reduction of 25 to 40 percent earns 5 to 10 points.⁴

Hitting the Threshold With a Single Certification

Third-party building certifications are the fastest route to a full point total. Under the 2017 handbook, which still governs projects approved before January 1, 2025, major certifications earn:⁵

Living Building Challenge: 90 to 100 points.
LEED (New Construction and Major Renovation): 80 to 95 points.
Passive House (PHIUS+): 70 points.
Energy Star: 30 points.

LEED alone can cover the full 100 points for new construction, which is why so many Chicago planned developments pursue it. Energy Star at 30 points works as a supplement to menu strategies, or as the backbone for a 25-point renovation. The 2024 handbook retains these certification pathways but adjusted some point values to reflect the expanded menu.

Which Version of the Policy Governs Your Project

The 2024 revision is the most significant overhaul since the policy was first adopted in 2004. Projects approved on or after January 1, 2025, must use the 2024 framework. Projects approved before that date can choose either the 2017 or the 2024 version.⁶

The main substantive changes: elevated point values for bird protection, new EV infrastructure provisions, building electrification added as a 30-point strategy, and workforce development and community resiliency assets added as point-earning options. Transit proximity, which appeared in the 2017 menu, was removed in 2024.⁶ If your project predates 2025 and you have a strategy mix that worked under the older menu, running the numbers under both versions before you commit is worth the time.

Documenting Your Points: The Policy Matrix

The core compliance document is the Policy Matrix, a spreadsheet-style form available from the Department of Planning and Development.¹ It lists every strategy you intend to pursue and the points each one contributes.

The matrix has to line up with your architectural drawings and site plans. If it claims 20 points for a green roof covering more than 50 percent of the rooftop, the drawings have to show that coverage. Specialized systems need technical specifications: wattage ratings for solar, soil composition for vegetated roofs, and similar backup. Discrepancies between the matrix and construction documents can trigger rejections or force design revisions. The SDP Handbook spells out the documentation required for each strategy, so check what evidence you will need before locking in your selections.²

Submittal and Verification

You submit the Policy Matrix and supporting documentation to DPD during zoning review or site plan approval. Filing early gives staff time to confirm your strategies hit the required point total before construction starts, and it is the stage where tier classification disputes get resolved.

During construction, the city monitors whether committed features are actually being installed. After construction, you provide proof of any claimed certifications and evidence that installed systems match what the Policy Matrix promised. Successful verification produces a formal sign-off confirming the project met its SDP obligations.

A Separate Obligation After You Open

The SDP governs what gets built. A different ordinance governs how the building performs once it is operating. Chicago’s Energy Benchmarking Ordinance requires buildings with 50,000 or more square feet of gross floor area to report energy usage annually by June 1 through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, with data verification required every three years.⁷ If your project crosses that size threshold, benchmarking compliance is a separate ongoing obligation that lives outside the SDP point system.

1
City of Chicago. Sustainable Development Policy Home
2
City of Chicago. Chicago Sustainable Development Policy Handbook
3
City of Chicago. Sustainable Development Policy (2017)
4
City of Chicago. Chicago Sustainable Development Policy Handbook
5
City of Chicago. Sustainable Development Policy Handbook (2017)
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City of Chicago. Chicago Sustainable Development Policy
7
City of Chicago. Chicago Energy Benchmarking