Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership
takes the lead on environmental sustainability

The award-winning Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership building — designed by Chicago-based Krueck + Sexton Architects — opened in 2007. Spertus Institute is proud to be the recipient of a number of prestigious awards including the Chicago Design Excellence Award from the American Institute of Architecture (AIA) and the Patron of the Year Award from the Chicago Architecture Foundation.

Green initiatives were important to us at Spertus from the start of the planning for this new facility. Sustainable design features and energy efficient operations were incorporated from the building's inception, and in 2008 the building was awarded a Silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

As an institute for Jewish learning and leadership, our commitment to sustainability goes beyond our desire to do the right thing by being a good corporate citizen. Environmentalism and conservation are imperatives woven into the Jewish sacred teachings of tikkun olam (partnering with God to repair the world) and bal taschit (precepts against the destruction or waste of the earth’s resources).

Along with facility partner Venue Six10, we are proud to take the lead by continuing to improve the sustainability of our operations and encouraging our partners to do so as well. We hope our efforts stand as an invitation for those who share these values to join us in protecting resources today and for future generations.

Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership offers dynamic learning opportunities, rooted in Jewish wisdom and culture and open to all. These opportunities are designed to enable personal growth, train future leaders, and engage individuals in exploration of Jewish life.

Spertus Institute staff members recommend the following websites and organizations for those wishing to learn more about sustainability, both in general and within Judaism: 

• Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, coejl.org
• Big Green Jewish, a UK-based resource about Judaism and the environment, biggreenjewish.org
• Chicago’s Green Roof Initiative, artic.edu/webspaces/greeninitiatives/greenroofs
• The Go Green Initiative, an environmental resource for educators, gogreeninitiative.org
• The Environmental Working Group, ewg.org
• Hazon, an organization working for healthier, more sustainable communities in the Jewish world and beyond, hazon.org