If you’re driving between Milwaukee and Chicago, about halfway into the trip you’ll drive through the Illinois village of Gurnee. That is where Chipotle has decided to create one of the country’s most self-reliant restaurants, one that has a wind turbine providing up to 10% of the power among other “green goodies.” For a long time, Chipotle has worn their “environmentally OK” badge with honor. They’ve bought their meat from animal- and earth-friendly vendors, instituted one of the most stringent recycling programs of any large restaurant chain and now this. Bogus marketing ploy or real green leadership genius? The specs of the new green mean Chipotle restaurant:

• There’s a 2500 gallon underground cistern that will capture rainwater from the roof to supply water for all landscape irrigation.
• The concrete mix used 25% fly ash, a recycled material.
• Only a little bit of light leaves the immediate area surrounding the building and site.This reduces sky-glow increasing night sky access and improving nighttime visibility through glare reduction.
• Water efficiency is at 40% for the site.

It also says it’s located within “one or more public buses” to reduce car emissions, which sounds like a stretch to us. Nevertheless its commendable for a fast food restaurant to make the extra investment for the good of the environment. Now if they could just focus on making a recipe for fat-free carnitas, we’ll all be set.

Gurnee Chipotle Goes Green [Chicagoist]
Image [Chipotle]