Please check out our Progress page for more information.

It is a natural, biological process that breaks down organic matter without oxygen, resulting in two bi-products: biogas and nutrient-rich compost. We’re harnessing the powers of this proven technology to begin diverting Chicago’s millions of pounds of food waste per month from landfills.

For more information, please visit our Anaerobic Digestion page.

An urban farm cultivates, processes, and distributes food in or around urban areas. Green Era partner Urban Growers Collective and their collaborators have spent 20+ years creating community-based food systems that grow, prepare, and distribute produce within local neighborhoods. The Green Era Campus is the latest evolution in this decades-long impact.

Worldwide, 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted every year. (UN FAO). That food waste is mostly sent to landfills, releasing methane during its decomposition. To put those emissions into context: if food waste were a country, it would be the world's third-largest emitter behind China and the U.S. (UN FAO). Green Era is intervening in this crisis in a comprehensive way: diverting food waste from landfills, and giving it a second life as Renewable Natural Gas and nutrient-dense compost.

By diverting food waste from landfills, Green Era can offset approximately 42,500 tons of carbon dioxide per year. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. Greenhouse gases absorb heat and release it gradually over time, like bricks in a fireplace after the fire goes out. Increases in greenhouse gases have tipped the Earth's energy budget out of balance, trapping additional heat and raising Earth's average temperature. Increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide are responsible for about two-thirds of the total energy imbalance that is causing Earth's temperature to rise.

Climate change and environmental injustices have deadly consequences for communities of color, and Green Era exists to create environmental equity. 68% of Black American live within 30 miles of a coal-fired power plant, compared to 56% of white Americans, and Black children are 2–3 times more likely to die of an asthma attack than their white counterparts. Everyone deserves a healthy, sustainable, and thriving environment to live in, and Green Era is a crucial investment in community-centered sustainability solutions. We’re doing this by transforming vacant, toxic land into community green spaces, creating new green jobs, providing educational opportunities for youth, and distributing affordable fresh produce to neighbors. In addition, we provide public outreach and tours to community groups and businesses interested in becoming more ecologically conscious. Because racism is systemic and structural, our response to it must be as well. To learn more, visit our Impact page.

Through decades of redlining and disinvestment, this under-resourced neighborhood has struggled to build wealth and get ahead. Auburn Gresham has one of the highest food insecurity rates in all of Chicago and a 13% unemployment rate (nearly double the city average). The Green Era Campus is laying the foundation for lasting economic growth and community empowerment. “Always Growing, Auburn Gresham,” a collaboration between the Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation, Green Era, and New Pisgah Community Service Organization, won the inaugural $10M Chicago Prize to propel Auburn Gresham forward and enable the neighborhood to reclaim its own future.

Green Era is a partnership of multiple entities, all committed to a shared vision of an equitable, sustainable future for all: Urban Growers Collective NFP, Green Era Educational NFP, and Green Era Sustainability LLC. Learn more here.

Green Era began collaborating with the community for five years before construction started. Beginning in December 2015, Urban Growers Collective (UCG) attended monthly Town Halls at the Woodson Congressional Library to engage with residents and address their concerns and understand their needs. In 2016, Auburn Gresham residents, community leaders, and stakeholders embarked on a yearlong Quality-of-Life community input and planning process to establish our second 5-year community plan and a set of strategies and projects to make that plan a reality. The Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation (GAGDC), a partner in the development of the Green Era Campus, led the Quality-of-Life planning process and engaged over 1,500 residents. The resulting plan, entitled Your Voice Matters, highlights comprehensive, multi-faceted strategies to ensure all residents can experience lifelong learning and grow into “high quality, healthy, and richly-fulfilled lives.” Unfortunately, the planning process was not accompanied by access to funding, capital, or resources, which are often lagging in communities of color. Our vision has thus tackled complex community development head-on.

Since the Quality-of-Life planning process, the Auburn Gresham, Always Growing team that includes UGC, Green Era, and GAGDC has been regularly engaging the community to plan for the two cornerstone projects. Regular community engagement opportunities have included Aldermanic town hall meetings, community zoning meetings, community design charrettes, United Way Neighborhood Network meetings, and business subcommittee meetings. In our community-centered design process, we hosted hands-on sessions for students at Simeon Career Academy’s Technical Career Education program to design potential campus layouts and community uses.

‍Six blocks away from the Green Era Campus, our partner GAGDC is renovating a long-vacant, highly visible building at 839 W. 79th Street into the Auburn Gresham Healthy Lifestyle Hub, which will provide a full-service Federally Qualified Health Center, pharmacy, and social services such as college prep training, job training and placement services, and co-working and community spaces. GAGDC is also constructing new affordable housing units to ensure that the community that welcomed in Green Era is the community that benefits from it.

We will continue engagement through comprehensive programming and intentional partnerships with grassroots, community-led organizations, urban farmers and small business owners, and other local stakeholders.