GREEN ERA: THE FUTURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

The ribbon has officially been cut on a groundbreaking environmental initiative on Chicago’s South Side. This award winning, one-of-a-kind project sets a new standard for food waste management in Chicago, transforming organic waste into nutrient-rich compost and renewable energy through the use of advanced anaerobic digestion technology.

The Green Era Renewable Energy and Urban Farming Campus, a CCLF financed project, in Chicago’s Auburn Gresham neighborhood at 650 W. 83rd Street is a nine-acre, sustainable energy farm that will have a multitude of uses including, a clean energy generation facility, an anaerobic biodigester, an urban farm, greenhouses, an outdoor fresh produce market, a visitor’s center with classrooms for community-driven programming, and a STEM education center.

The project is a collaboration between Erika Allen, Green Era Co-Founder and Founder/CEO Urban Growers Collective, and Jason Feldman, Green Era Co-Founder.

Each year, Chicago sends more than 55 million pounds of food waste to landfills. Green Era is home to the Midwest’s first self-sustaining anaerobic digester, processing food waste and packaging from various partners such as restaurants and grocery stores like Mariano’s. The digester converts these organic materials into nutrient-rich compost and biogas. In collaboration with Peoples Gas, the biogas will be refined into clean, renewable natural gas – advancing both environmental sustainability and circular economy goals.

Green Era Campus includes Green Era Sustainability and Green Era Education NFP.

“Our journey began with a simple yet powerful question,” states Erika Allen, Co-Founder Green Era Campus. “How can we turn waste into wealth, neglect into nourishment, and disinvestment into empowerment? The Auburn Gresham community embraced that question and the vision. Together we imagined and built this interwoven web of youth education, job creation, urban farming, regenerative agriculture, green space, and anaerobic digestion technology. What we call the Green Arrow Campus.”

“This project is proof that small acts lead to big impact and that when we come together around shared values we can redefine what’s possible. Thank you again for your trust, for your support and your partnership. This is a shared vision brought to life and we’re just getting started,” Jason Feldman, Co-Founder Green Era Campus.

The event was attended by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker; Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson; Illinois State Treasurer, Michael Frerichs; 21st Ward Alderman, Ronnie Moseley; and Carlos Nelson, CEO Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation.
CCLF provided an initial $3 million participation loan for this project and another $50,000 secured from Opportunity Finance Network Energy Efficiency Grant Program. Other financing participants included Benefit Chicago, IFF, The Reinvestment Fund, public agencies, individual investor groups, and U.S. Bank as the NMTC investor.

Take a look at the photos below of the event and the video Here