When childhood friends and former roommates Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan founded Method® amost 15 years ago, they set out to create “clean” cleaning products that you didn’t have to hide under the sink.

Now, the San Francisco-based Method® plans to build a LEED-Platinum factory in the U.S., where it will produce its environmentally-friendly cleaning products, which include soap and laundry detergent.

The state-of-the-art factory, designed by William McDonough + Partners is being built in Chicago’s Pullman district, where the Pullman railroad cars were built. Before construction, Method® will clean up the site, which is now a brownfield.

The factory will be run entirely on renewable power. Solar photovoltaic structures will generate electricity and provide shade for parked cars and solar thermal panels will provide hot water for the manufacturing processes. Building materials safe for people and the environment will use the Cradle-to-Cradle CertifiedCM protocol. This will restore and support the surrounding habitat and stimulate the neighborhood’s economy with an estimated 100 manufacturing jobs. A rooftop greenhouse will provide food for the local community.

The construction and operation of the factory serves to bolster Method®’s environmental philosophy and line of green cleaning products.

Talk about a company true to its mission. As we continue to celebrate Mother Earth, let’s support companies that support her, and ultimately us. Method® is definitely one of them.