Sustainability

Since 1930, when The Merchandise Mart opened as the largest building in the world, it has paved the way in important areas like environmental sustainability.  In November 2007, The Merchandise Mart was awarded LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council making it the largest LEED-EB certified building the world.  We maintain an open dialogue with organizations such as Clinton Climate Initiative, Clean Air Counts, Friends of the Chicago River and the Active Transportation Alliance to further our efforts.

The Merchandise Mart features the “Green Spot” on the first floor to educate our building guests, showcase the sustainable products of our showroom tenants and demonstrate our commitment to sustainability. The Green Spot includes a life-size timeline outlining the most notable events and accomplishments in the sustainable movement both in Chicago and throughout the world since the early 20th century. It also showcases green, eco-friendly or sustainable products from our incredible tenant roster of industry front runners and innovation leaders who have embraced sustainable design.

The Mart’s management team works carefully with our vendors, construction partners, office tenants and showroom partners to ensure that they are using eco-friendly products, embracing best practices and learning from our experience.  Additionally, we work very closely with our almost two dozen tenants who have achieved or are seeking LEED certification. These innovative partners include Haworth, IIDA, Milliken, Mohawk, OFS, Knoll, Allsteel, Invista, HON, Chicago School of Professional Psychology, USGBC, PCDW, Steelcase and Jofco.