Giant stuffed burrito fans in suburban Chicago can now say they’ve given back to the environment.

A new Chipotle location in Gurnee, Ill., features a 6-kilowatt wind turbine and other green initiatives that will make the dining experience much cleaner and more eco-efficient.

Following in their footsteps of opening the first green Chipotle in Austin, Texas, Chipotle has taken more steps toward making their restaurants “greener” and better for the environment since 2003.

“We wanted to see what would happen if we took all of these more sustainable and environmentally friendly elements that we had been working with in various places and put them all together,” Chris Arnold, a spokesperson for Chipotle, said.

The Gurnee location, which opened on Oct.  3, includes environmentally friendly features in its construction, such as recycled drywall and barn metal with  primers and paints that contain fewer chemicals. The use of LED lighting, sun reflective asphalt and underground water cisterns that harvest rainwater to irrigate the landscape have all been implemented in the new location as well.

Chipotle is not yet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified, meaning the location’s features have not been completely reviewed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The USGBC looks at how much energy and water the building is using, what the building is made out of and also what the indoor environment is like.

Ashley Katz, communications manager at the USGBC, said the Chipotle location can’t technically call itself “green” yet because it isn’t actually LEED certified, but it is in the one- to three-month process of being certified.

“LEED certification is really key, because if the building isn’t certified, how do you know it’s green?” Katz said. “LEED came around to offer this third party validation to determine the building is operating the way it was designed and intended to operate.”

There are five other eco-friendly Chipotles that will open soon, including one in Minnetoka, Minn., and one in suburban Seattle. Arnold said Chipotle doesn’t have a goal to get all of their restaurants LEED certified, but they are definitely looking to improve the environments at all of their locations nationwide.

The green initiatives that Chipotle has taken are not just about the materials that are used in the building process, but also the environment the materials provide for consumers. Using high-toxic materials can lead to poor air quality and allergens that customers will have to endure when dining, Katz said.

Jose Gonzalez, a manager at the Gurnee Chipotle, said he is thrilled about the new restaurant but many of the customers are unaware of the green initiatives because it’s hard to tell just by looking at drywall and paint if they are green materials.

“We’re all really excited about all the elements this restaurant has,” Gonzalez said. “Some of the customers ask about the windmill and ask if it’s even real.”

Gonzalez said the wind turbine is not distracting, and he forgets that it’s there. Gonzalez has worked at previous Chipotle’s and said this one took a much longer time to construct because builders wanted to get all the details right.

He said their location is particularly busy because the nearest Chipotle is more than 10 miles away.