The world’s largest commercial building, The Merchandise Mart, owned and managed by Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI) has obtained the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Building (LEED-EB) Silver certification. Now the fifth building in Chicago to become LEED® certified, MMPI’s efforts to promote exemplary green building practices and environmental stewardship throughout their 4.2 million square foot facility are being recognized by what is considered to be the industry standard for high performance green buildings.

What is LEED?
The LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. The rating system was designed by leading experts in the construction industry to promote buildings that are economically profitable, environmentally friendly, and healthy, productive places to work. LEED has been adopted nationwide by federal agencies, state and local governments, and interested private companies as the guideline for sustainable building.

To earn LEED-EB certification, a building must meet certain prerequisites and performance criterion within five key areas of green building strategies: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials and resources and indoor environmental quality. Projects are awarded Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum certification depending on the number of credits achieved.

What is The Merchandise Mart Doing?
The Mart has been reducing environmental impact through products, procedures and equipment for many years. In 1977, MMPI opened the Apparel Center with a heat-by-light heating system, the largest building to do so in the country. In 1986, The Mart began operating the largest thermal storage facility in the world, capable of building 2,000,000 pounds of ice per night, cooling 71 buildings in the surrounding neighborhood, and saving $200,000 in electricity costs in the first year.

In 1990, The Mart began using Green Seal approved green cleaning products and the next year implemented a recycling program, which today includes all forms of paper products, glass, light bulbs, batteries, aluminum and construction materials. In 1996, The Mart became one of the first major property owners in downtown Chicago to enter into an agreement with the district cooling system now known as Thermal Chicago, thus contributing to the national effort to reduce the discharge of ozone-damaging CFC’s.

In 2006, MMPI joined Clean Air Counts, a voluntary initiative to reduce smog forming pollutants and energy consumption in the greater Chicago area. Part of the campaign strategies included utilizing only low VOC cleaning products, paints and building materials, as well as energy efficient lighting and alternative workplace transportation options. To date, The Mart has reduced pollution by 264,018 pounds for the largest reduction by a commercial building.

That same year, The Merchandise Mart recycling program saved over 13,000 trees, and water conservation efforts saved 5.5 million gallons of water. The Mart and 350 W. Mart Center, also owned and managed by MMPI, recycled nearly 11 million pounds of waste.

Thus far in 2007, The Merchandise Mart has began using recycled paper for all business purposes, installed motion sensors in restrooms and lower wattage fixtures wherever possible, made an I-Go hybrid car available to tenants and employees 24 hours a day, retrofitted exit lights to require less energy, and implemented an exterior and dock lighting schedule. An important part of The Mart’s initiatives was educating employees and tenants in the newly established green building programs, including a survey of all tenants’ current green building practices. .

Future goals include: reducing the quantity of water needed for the building through the installation of more efficient fixtures, optimizing energy efficiency through lighting retrofits, supporting ozone protection protocols, encouraging renewable and alternative energy sources, purchasing materials with less environmental impact, and eliminating the sources of indoor air pollution.

“We don’t view this as a completed project,” noted Merchandise Mart Senior Vice President Myron Maurer. “We have developed the tools, now we use those tools in our day-to-day operations. The Mart is going to continue to refine and improve our green building practices. This is a way of life at The Merchandise Mart.”

The Delta Institute assisted MMPI in its path toward certification.  The Delta Institute is a nonprofit organization formed in 1998 that works for a cleaner environment, healthier communities and a greener economy.

The Mart’s certification was accomplished with support from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (IDCEO).