With 63.4 percent of its office space considered “green,” Chicago ranked third of 30 markets on the 2015 Green Building Adoption Index, a joint project of CBRE Group, Inc. and Maastricht University.
Chicago claimed one of the top spots in the Green Building Adoption Index, once again. Compared to the previous year, there was a reduction in the number of total certified buildings–287, down from 294, but the percentage of all square footage in those buildings increased to 63.4 percent.
Also notable was the significant increase in the percentage of square footage of LEED-certified buildings to 38.5 percent, up nearly seven percent in a single year. Since the overall figures did not reflect such a large increase, this certainly means that a number of ENERGY STAR–labeled buildings have continued to increase their standing by also now achieving LEED certification.
Chicago’s overall strong performance in the adoption of green building certification resonates even more profoundly in the West Loop. In total, 64 percent of West Loop buildings hold an ENERGY STAR or LEED certification. More specifically, 48 percent of the buildings have an ENERGY STAR label and 41.3 percent are certified under the LEED program.
Overall, Minneapolis led the Green Building Adoption Index’s city ranking for the second consecutive year, with 70.4 percent of all office space currently qualified as green, down from 77.0 percent in 2014.
The study also found that owners of small buildings have an opportunity to differentiate themselves by implementing energy-efficient practices, due to a significant gap between large and small office buildings in achieving sustainability certification. 62.1 percent of office buildings in the U.S. greater than 500,000 square feet are considered green. In contrast, only 4.5 percent of all U.S. office buildings less than 100,000 square feet qualified as green.
Executed in close collaboration with the USGBC and CBRE Research, this is the second release of the annual Green Building Adoption Index. Based on a rigorous methodology, the Index shows the growth of ENERGY STAR- and LEED-certified space for the 30 largest U.S. office markets, both in aggregate and in individual markets, over the previous 10 years.
