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Chicago's Most Emissions Intense Buildings

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The buildings that reported the highest greenhouse gas emissions per square foot

  • ⚡All Electric
    CH1
    Data Center
    GHG Intensity
    135.1
    kg CO2 / sqft
    Total Emissions
    21,619
    tons CO2e
    C
    Overall Grade
  • CHI1 - Chicago DC1
    Data Center
    GHG Intensity
    101.7
    kg CO2 / sqft
    Total Emissions
    48,295
    tons CO2e
    C
    Overall Grade
  • Digital Printer's Row
    Data Center
    GHG Intensity
    93.5
    kg CO2 / sqft
    Total Emissions
    17,323
    tons CO2e
    C
    Overall Grade
  • University of Chicago
    6045 Kenwood Building
    Office
    GHG Intensity
    79.7
    kg CO2 / sqft
    Total Emissions
    7,899
    tons CO2e
    C
    Overall Grade
  • Salem Baptist Church of Chicago
    Worship Facility
    GHG Intensity
    78
    kg CO2 / sqft
    Total Emissions
    7,160
    tons CO2e
    D
    Overall Grade
  • ⚡All Electric
    601 West Polk
    Data Center
    GHG Intensity
    70.6
    kg CO2 / sqft
    Total Emissions
    7,338
    tons CO2e
    C
    Overall Grade
  • University of Chicago
    Searle Chemistry Laboratory
    Laboratory
    GHG Intensity
    49.1
    kg CO2 / sqft
    Total Emissions
    4,202
    tons CO2e
    C
    Overall Grade
  • 10252-KBS Kingsbury SO.
    Supermarket/Grocery Store
    GHG Intensity
    47.4
    kg CO2 / sqft
    Total Emissions
    3,547
    tons CO2e
    D
    Overall Grade
  • BSLC
    Laboratory
    GHG Intensity
    47.2
    kg CO2 / sqft
    Total Emissions
    8,296
    tons CO2e
    D
    Overall Grade
  • WGN Studios
    Office
    GHG Intensity
    46.8
    kg CO2 / sqft
    Total Emissions
    3,068
    tons CO2e
    C
    Overall Grade

Featured Chicago Buildings

Check out some of Chicago’s most famous buildings, and learn how they use energy

Our Research & Updates

🎉 Updated with Latest (2023) Data!
Aug. 2025

We've updated with the latest 2023 Chicago energy benchmarking data (the most recent data available, released by the city in February 2025). See what buildings are new in the data, and which stopped reporting.

View Latest Updates

📰 Do High Emitting Buildings Stop Reporting?
Mar. 6th, 2025

Many buildings in Chicago that fall under the benchmarking requirements don't report their energy use and emissions. We investigated if there was a pattern at play, and whether poor performing buildings stopped reporting at higher rates than good performers.

Read Our Full Research

📰 $30 Million In Missed Fines
Feb. 2nd, 2024

The City Of Chicago failed to collect $30 million in potential fines from the building benchmarking ordinance, reducing transparency and accountability.

Read Our Full Blog on Missed Fines

Note: Data From Large Buildings in 2023

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 “As of 2016, this list includes all commercial, institutional, and residential buildings larger than 50,000 square feet.”

The latest year of data is from 2023, but we update the site regularly when new data is available, and some buildings may have failed to report that year, and only have older data available.

Additionally, note that all tons specified are metric tons.

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