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Cleanest 50 Buildings by Greenhouse Gas Intensity

The median building in our dataset emits 8 CO2 kg / square foot, but these buildings are Chicago's best in class and emit way less! Some, like Marina Towers , are large residential buildings, but other buildings in this list include offices, hotels, and even schools like King College Prep . Most buildings in this list have an Energy Star score over 90, which means they are typically officially certified as being energy-efficient.

Note: Data only includes large Chicago buildings from 2020

Note: This data only includes buildings whose emissions are reported under the Chicago Energy Benchmarking Ordinance(opens in a new tab). According to the City β€œAs of 2016, this list includes all commercial, institutional, and residential buildings larger than 50,000 square feet.” This dataset is also then filtered to only buildings with reported emissions > 1,000 metric tons CO2 equivalent.

This data is also from 2020, but when new benchmark data is available, we'll update the site.

Property Name / address Primary Property Type Greenhouse Gas Intensity
(kg CO2 eq./sqft)
Total Greenhouse Emissions
(metric tons CO2 eq.)
309-The Breakers at Edgewater Beach
πŸ†
5333 N Sheridan Rd
Senior Living Community
1.8 kg/sqft
#1 Lowest
3,180 tons
Highest 28%
200 N COLUMBUS DR
πŸ†
200 N COLUMBUS DR
Hotel
1.9 kg/sqft
#2 Lowest
1,355 tons
Lowest 22%
State Place Condominium Association
πŸ† πŸ“·
1101 S State St
Multifamily Housing
2.7 kg/sqft
#3 Lowest
1,481 tons
Lowest 28%
Marina Towers Condominium Association
πŸ† πŸ“·
300 N State St
Multifamily Housing
2.8 kg/sqft
#4 Lowest
2,167 tons
Highest 46%
The Monadnock Building
πŸ† πŸ“·
53 W Jackson Blvd
Office
3.0 kg/sqft
#5 Lowest
1,476 tons
Lowest 28%
King College Prep -CPS
πŸ† πŸ“·
4445 S Drexel Blvd
K-12 School
3.3 kg/sqft
#6 Lowest
1,031 tons
Lowest 3%
Clinton Complex Condominium Association
πŸ† πŸ“·
500 S Clinton St
Multifamily Housing
3.3 kg/sqft
#6 Lowest
1,101 tons
Lowest 7%
Ella Flagg Young Apartments
πŸ†
4645 N Sherdian Rd
Multifamily Housing
3.4 kg/sqft
#9 Lowest
1,029 tons
Lowest 3%
Park 1500 Lofts
πŸ† πŸ“·
1500 W Monroe St
Multifamily Housing
3.4 kg/sqft
#9 Lowest
1,845 tons
Lowest 43%
Saucedo Elementary Academy - CPS
πŸ†
2850 W 24th Blvd
K-12 School
3.4 kg/sqft
#9 Lowest
1,002 tons
#1 Lowest
Shoreland Apartments
πŸ†
5454 S Shore Dr
Multifamily Housing
3.5 kg/sqft
#11 Lowest
2,231 tons
Highest 46%
The ParkShore Condominium Association
πŸ†
195 N Harbor Dr
Multifamily Housing
3.6 kg/sqft
#13 Lowest
3,634 tons
Highest 24%
5252 S CORNELL AVE
πŸ†
5252 S CORNELL AVE
Multifamily Housing
3.6 kg/sqft
#13 Lowest
1,219 tons
Lowest 16%
329 W 18th St
πŸ†
329 W 18th St
Other
3.6 kg/sqft
#13 Lowest
1,821 tons
Lowest 43%
Hyatt Chicago Magnificent Mile
πŸ†
633 N St Clair St
Office
3.6 kg/sqft
#13 Lowest
2,252 tons
Highest 45%
Dearborn Tower Condominium Association
πŸ†
1530 S State St
Multifamily Housing
3.7 kg/sqft
#16 Lowest
2,754 tons
Highest 34%
Metropolitan Place Condominium Association
πŸ†
130 S Canal St
Multifamily Housing
3.7 kg/sqft
#16 Lowest
2,152 tons
Highest 47%
Wentworth Gardens
πŸ†
3770 S Wentworth Ave
Multifamily Housing
3.8 kg/sqft
#19 Lowest
3,155 tons
Highest 29%
401 465 E Illinois St
πŸ†
401 465 E Illinois St
Multifamily Housing
3.8 kg/sqft
#19 Lowest
1,511 tons
Lowest 30%
Auditorium Building
πŸ†
430 S Michigan Ave
College/University
3.8 kg/sqft
#19 Lowest
2,248 tons
Highest 45%
Phillips Academy HS -CPS
πŸ†
244 E Pershing Rd
K-12 School
3.8 kg/sqft
#19 Lowest
1,094 tons
Lowest 7%
Tilden HS -CPS
πŸ†
4747 S Union Ave
K-12 School
3.9 kg/sqft
#24 Lowest
1,272 tons
Lowest 18%
Wells Community Academy HS -CPS
πŸ†
936 N Ashland Ave
K-12 School
3.9 kg/sqft
#24 Lowest
1,026 tons
#29 Lowest
Bradley Business Center
πŸ†
2500 W Bradley Pl
Other
3.9 kg/sqft
#24 Lowest
1,443 tons
Lowest 26%
The Sexton Condominium Association
πŸ†
360 W Illinois St
Multifamily Housing
3.9 kg/sqft
#24 Lowest
1,537 tons
Lowest 31%
3711 S VINCENNES AVE
πŸ†
3711 S VINCENNES AVE
Multifamily Housing
3.9 kg/sqft
#24 Lowest
1,180 tons
Lowest 13%
Ontario Street Lofts CA
πŸ†
411 W Ontario St
Multifamily Housing
3.9 kg/sqft
#24 Lowest
1,023 tons
#27 Lowest
Chicago Vocational Career Academy -CPS
πŸ†
2106 E 87th St
K-12 School
4.0 kg/sqft
#29 Lowest
2,718 tons
Highest 34%
Lincoln Park 2550 Condominium Association
πŸ†
2550 N Lakeview Ave
Multifamily Housing
4.0 kg/sqft
#29 Lowest
3,969 tons
Highest 22%
Kelly HS -CPS
πŸ†
4136 S California Ave
K-12 School
4.0 kg/sqft
#29 Lowest
1,206 tons
Lowest 15%
Hanover House
πŸ†
11 21 W GOETHE ST
Multifamily Housing
4.0 kg/sqft
#29 Lowest
1,008 tons
#7 Lowest
Eddystone Condominium Homes
πŸ†
415 421 W MELROSE ST
Multifamily Housing
4.1 kg/sqft
Lowest 3%
1,009 tons
#10 Lowest
River North Commons CA
520 W Huron St
Multifamily Housing
4.1 kg/sqft
Lowest 3%
1,152 tons
Lowest 11%
3224 3244 N HALSTED ST
3224 3244 N HALSTED ST
Multifamily Housing
4.1 kg/sqft
Lowest 3%
1,112 tons
Lowest 8%
Lane Tech HS -CPS
2501 W Addison St
K-12 School
4.2 kg/sqft
Lowest 3%
2,977 tons
Highest 31%
Steinmetz Academic Center HS -CPS
3030 N Mobile Ave
K-12 School
4.2 kg/sqft
Lowest 3%
1,692 tons
Lowest 37%
Smith Senior Living
2320 W 113TH PL
Senior Living Community
4.2 kg/sqft
Lowest 3%
1,557 tons
Lowest 32%
Randolph Place Residences Condominium Association
165 N Canal St
Multifamily Housing
4.3 kg/sqft
Lowest 3%
3,187 tons
Highest 28%
The Darien Apartments
3100 N Lake Shore Dr
Multifamily Housing
4.3 kg/sqft
Lowest 3%
1,504 tons
Lowest 30%
Optima Signature Apartments
220 E Illinois St
Multifamily Housing
4.3 kg/sqft
Lowest 3%
3,753 tons
Highest 23%
Oakley Square Apartments
2325 W JACKSON BLVD
Multifamily Housing
4.3 kg/sqft
Lowest 3%
1,203 tons
Lowest 15%
The Blackstone, A Renaissance Hotel
636 S Michigan Ave
Hotel
4.3 kg/sqft
Lowest 3%
1,665 tons
Lowest 36%
(IL296) - 1400 Museum Park Condo
100 E 14th St
Multifamily Housing
4.3 kg/sqft
Lowest 3%
2,343 tons
Highest 42%
Lake Shore Condominium Association
1440 N LAKESHORE DR
Multifamily Housing
4.3 kg/sqft
Lowest 3%
1,325 tons
Lowest 20%
15th Place
811 - 833 W 15th Pl
Multifamily Housing
4.3 kg/sqft
Lowest 3%
1,094 tons
Lowest 7%
311 W Monroe
311 W Monroe
Office
4.3 kg/sqft
Lowest 3%
1,845 tons
Lowest 43%
131 S Dearborn 3
131 S Dearborn
Financial Office
4.3 kg/sqft
Lowest 3%
1,170 tons
Lowest 12%
TransUnion LLC
555 W Adams St
Office
4.3 kg/sqft
Lowest 3%
1,354 tons
Lowest 22%
The Pavilion
5441 N East River Rd
Multifamily Housing
4.4 kg/sqft
Lowest 4%
4,699 tons
Highest 17%
Carl Sandburg Village Condo Association #2
1455 - 1460 N Sandburg Ter
Multifamily Housing
4.4 kg/sqft
Lowest 4%
3,417 tons
Highest 26%

Data Source: Chicago Energy Benchmarking Data (opens in a new tab)