AGC Blog

The Academy for Global Citizenship (AGC), a Pre-K-8 public charter school on Chicago's Southwest Side, today announced that its campus is officially Living Building Challenge® (LBC) certified by Living Future, becoming the first project in Illinois and also the first whole school building anywhere in the world to reach this milestone.

The announcement lands on Nature Conservation Day, a timing that reflects AGC's foundational commitment to environmental stewardship since its founding. From solar panels to nature playscapes, the school’s sustainable six-acre campus intentionally serves as a third teacher, engaging nearly 600 students and thousands of community members in a more regenerative way of living every single day.

The Living Building Challenge® is widely regarded as the most rigorous sustainability certification in the built environment, requiring projects to generate their own energy, treat and reuse their own water, and meet strict standards for materials, equity, and beauty over a minimum 12-month performance period. Fewer than 40 projects worldwide have achieved full certification.

"AGC's certification proves that the same standards we ask of our most ambitious commercial and civic buildings can exist in a school," said Lindsay Baker, executive director of Living Future. "The future depends on environmental stewardship, and AGC's campus and innovative approach to education is actively shaping the next generation of leaders to champion the well-being of our planet and our people."

The achievement builds on a year of strong recognition and momentum for AGC, including a historic seven-year charter renewal in June 2026 and a Community Changemaker award from the Food Health Network for its sustainable food infrastructure work.

Rooted in wellness, sustainability, and social justice, AGC has reimagined education as an ecosystem to mirror the natural world and nurture more mindful leaders. Its evidence-based model aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, connecting students' daily experience to a global framework for environmental and social progress.

"The Living Building Challenge certification is a testament to our team's tenacity, precision, and unwavering commitment to environmental justice," said Sarah Elizabeth Ippel, founder and executive director of AGC. "Our team is tremendously excited about the potential this represents for Chicago and beyond, demonstrating what's possible for every school community."

AGC's ambitious architectural design and construction was a joint venture between SMNG A Ltd. and Farr Associates, led by Todd Niemec and Doug Farr respectively, in partnership with Ippel, AGC Chief Operating Officer Paul Guilianelli, AGC's executive team, and architect Trung Le. SMNG A holds a 40-year track record of high-quality, imaginative building design across the Chicago area, while Farr Associates specializes in decarbonization and high-performance buildings guided by green technology, sustainable urbanism, and healthy spaces.

Prior to AGC's groundbreaking development in 2023, the site sat fallow since 2011. With this project, six acres of previously developed land were restored to support 160 native plant species alongside the campus's various interactive green spaces that champion human and planetary well-being—a particularly urgent and invaluable need for the historically disinvested community that AGC serves.

As of 2026, AGC's campus produces 107% of its own energy on site and operates net positive in both energy and water, closing the loop on the very resources most buildings simply consume. Over 10,000 pounds of fresh produce is harvested each year through its one-and-a-half-acre urban farm and educational gardens, supporting a sustainable school food program that serves 350,000 fresh meals annually.

With the Living Building Challenge® certification, AGC further showcases its role as a pioneer in regenerative learning that local and global changemakers, educators, and institutions can look to as they build more sustainable, mindful communities of their own.

For more information about AGC’s campus and commitment to sustainability, visit agcchicago.org.

AGC shares this milestone with every supporter and collaborator who helped create and nurture its campus, including but not limited to:

Andrews Engineering Inc.
Baumann Consulting
Davey Utility Services
dbHMS
ECS MIDWEST LLC
Farr Associates
Georges & Synowiecki Ltd.
Globetrotters Engineering Corporation
Hecate Energy
John Lyle & Associates - JLA Chicago
KLOA Testing Service Corporation
KNB Visualization
Neal & Leroy LLC
Power Construction
Phius
Repco
Sergeant Construction
Site Design Group
SMNG A Ltd.
Spaceco
Stearn-Joglekar Ltd.
The Concord Group
Tim Quast Eco Achievers
Trung Le
URBAN ReSOLVE
V3 Companies
WSP