Amenities have become more important for the owners of office buildings as they attempt to attract tenants in what has become an increasingly challenging sector. But tenants today aren’t only interested in sprawling conference rooms, on-site fitness centers and ping-pong tables. Many also want to set up shop in an eco-friendly office building.
That’s the big takeaway in 42 Floors‘ recent ranking of the the top eco-friendly office markets in the United States.
As 42 Floors says, tenants aren’t just looking at how green a particular office building is. They’re also looking at how environmentally friendly an entire market is. Some tenants might choose to locate in an office tower in a city more committed to eco-friendly measures than they would in a similar building in a less green location, 42 Floors says.
With that in mind, 42 Floors ranked the most eco-friendly office markets in the United States, analyzing eight metrics. These metrics focus both on buildings themselves — considering certifications, energy efficiency and materials used — and the environment in which the green office is located. When looking at community environmental measures, 42 Floors considered building policies, EV charging stations, public transit and walkability.
Which city topped 42 Floors’ rankings? Washington D.C. The nation’s capital scored 71 points on 42 Floors’ eco-friendly scale, boasting the highest ratio of energy-efficient buildings with 90.4 square feet of Energy Star-graded properties per capita. Washington D.C. also had the third-highest LEED score on 42 Floors’ list.
This means that about 40% of the office spaces in Washington D.C. are certified LEED Gold.
San Francisco took the second spot in 42 Floors’ survey, while Atlanta came in third. Boston came in fourth and Seattle rounded out the top five.
The top Midwest city on the list? That’d be Chicago, which ranked seventh in 42 Floors’ survey. Chicago scored a total of 50.4 points on 42 Floors’ scale, scoring high with 19.1% of its office buildings having attained LEED Platinum status and 37.4% LEED Gold.
The second-highest-rated Midwest city on 42 Floors’ list was Minneapolis. The Minnesota city scored 41.3 total points on 42 Floors’ list, with 31.9% of its office buildings having earned LEED Gold status.
Kansas City, Missouri, ranked third in the Midwest on 42 Floors’ list, while St. Louis ranked fourth and St. Paul, Minnesota, fifth.
