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Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority 
🚨

301 Cermak Rd, Chicago IL, 60616 Find on Google Maps (opens in a new tab)

Chicago Building ID: 101551

Attribution: Image Source (opens in a new tab). Cropped from original.

Building Info

Square Footage
9,245,333 sqft
#1 Largest
31x median
296,415 sqft
1.0x median Convention Center
9,245,333 sqft
Built
1971
Primary Property Type
Convention Center
Building Count
10
Community Area
Armour Square
Owner
Not Tagged

Emissions & Energy Information

For 2020

Greenhouse Gas Intensity
8.3 kg CO2e / sqft
Higher than 58% of all buildings
1.1x median
7.7 kg CO2e / sqft
1.0x median Convention Center
8.3 kg CO2e / sqft
Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions
76,934.8 metric tons CO2 eq.
#4 Highest in Chicago* 🚨
37x median
2,063.4 metric tons CO2 eq.
1.0x median Convention Center
76,934.8 metric tons CO2 eq.
Source Energy Usage Intensity
152.9 kBtu / sqft
Higher than 58% of all buildings
1.1x median
143.1 kBtu / sqft
1.0x median Convention Center
152.9 kBtu / sqft
Site Energy Usage Intensity
78.1 kBtu / sqft
Lower than 55% of all buildings
1.0x median
81.9 kBtu / sqft
1.0x median Convention Center
78.1 kBtu / sqft
Natural Gas Use
346,725,881.9 kBtu
#4 Highest in Chicago* 🚨
28x median
12,367,856.3 kBtu
1.0x median Convention Center
346,725,881.9 kBtu
Electricity Use
374,952,024.6 kBtu
#4 Highest in Chicago* 🚨
43x median
8,755,592 kBtu
1.0x median Convention Center
374,952,024.6 kBtu

* Important Note: Rankings and medians are among included buildings, which are those who reported under the Chicago Energy Benchmarking Ordinance for the year 2020 with emissions greater than 1,000 metric tons.

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

What Should We Do About This?

Practically every building has room to improve with energy efficiency upgrades like insulation, switching to ENERGY STAR rated appliances, and more, but for any buildings with large natural gas use, we recommend one thing: electrify!

In other words, buildings should look to move all on-site uses of fossil fuels (including space heating, water heating, and cooking) to electrically powered systems like industrial grade heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, and induction stoves. With Illinois' current electric supply, just using the same amount of energy from electricity, rather than natural gas (aka methane) will dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is because Illinois' grid in 2020 was already 67% carbon-free (see Illinois - Power | DecarbMyState (opens in a new tab)). This has already been done across the country with a variety of buildings, large and small, like the Hotel Marcel (opens in a new tab).

You can help make this a reality by talking to building owners and letting them know that a building's emissions are important to you, and that you want to see their building become fully electric and stop emitting greenhouse gases. Particularly for buildings you have a financial stake in (like your university, work, condo building, or apartment building) your voice in concert with your fellow building users can have a huge impact.

Additional Resources

See some additional resources on improving energy efficiency and understanding this data: