By Emily Chasan
The ranking selects buildings that are Energy Star certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or have a LEED rating from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.
Chicago outranked San Francisco, Atlanta, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Los Angeles, which also all saw their percentage of green buildings increase.
About 67.5% of San Francisco’s buildings were green certified this year. The only other markets to have a majority of buildings with the certifications included Atlanta, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Los Angeles and Houston, according to CBRE. Manhattan and Washington D.C. had more square footage certified green than Chicago, but only 49.3% and 46.7% of total square footage certified, respectively.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo this week said the state gave $18 million to 28 green building design projects to reduce the effect of buildings on the environment.
The state wants to increase its carbon-neutral building stock to reach a goal of 85% emissions reduction by 2050. Mayors of cities around the world have also focused on pushing new buildings to have net-zero emissions and ultra energy efficiency. Buildings in urban areas account for at least half of greenhouse gas emissions in most cities, according to C40 Cities.
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