Latin School of Chicago

Although they happened over a three-month period, these initiatives reflect something that has been ongoing at the school for several years: In big and small ways, one step at a time – often behind the scenes – Latin has been going green. Head of School Don Firke is passionate about Latin's responsibility as an educational institution to be forward thinking when it comes to conservation and was instrumental in including the first official statement about the school's environmental goals in Latin's 2007 Long Range Plan. "I believe that climate change – and all the associated issues from food production and water availability to border disputes and even wars – is the most important topic for us to address with kids in schools today. Thirty years from now, when they are adults, these will be the key challenges our children will be facing in their lives." According to the Long Range Plan: Latin seeks to "provide an outstanding physical environment that . . . takes into consideration . . . the areas of health, safety, aesthetics, accessibility and environmental impact." But long before the strategic goal was in print and going green was part of the everyday vernacular, a number of people at Latin had already been quietly making difference. An example are frugal-minded costsaving efforts two decades ago that drove veteran Director of Maintenance Kevin Bohlig to roam the halls and turn down office thermostats degree-by-degree and to recycle cardboard rather than pay for expensive garbage removal. Latin has helped save 37.5 tons of wood use or about 300 trees, 212.5 million BTUs of energy, 27,250 pounds of greenhouse gases, 109,375 gallons of water, and 14,050 pounds of solid waste by making the switch to 100% post-consumer recycled content copy paper. Bohlig's interest in energy efficiency became tied to environmental responsibility when Peter Brown joined Latin in 1998 as director of Facilities and Operations. An outdoor enthusiast who is committed to green initiatives and recycling in his home, Brown enjoys reading up on the latest innovations in environmentally friendly facilities management as a hobby – something that has served the school well as it has moved forward with its goals. "Initially, it was a happy coincidence that our efforts at conservation aligned with cost savings," says Brown. "Really, we were simply trying to reduce waste and help facilities run more efficiently. This included everything from trying to reduce paper consumption by streamlining mailings to putting in water-saving faucets." Building Green Brown's personal interest in sustainability issues came to the forefront when the school began planning for the new middle school in 2003. As Latin's liaison with architects Nagle Hartray Danker Kagan McKay Penney and the general contractors, he had significant opportunity for input into the design and construction of the new facility. "We were already quite far along in the design process when we decided that we wanted to make it a green building," Brown says, explaining that during the process he increasingly had come across articles about green design and LEED certification (verification by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design that a building project is environmentally responsible) in his spare-time reading. He was quick to realize that this was the wave of the future. "It just made sense to me that this was the responsible way to proceed," he says. From left: Latin's state-of-the-art computerized heating and cooling system; Peter Brown; Kevin Bolhig. 14 Latin Magazine

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