MPC is proud to announce its office located in the historic Marquette Building has earned the designation of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold for Commercial Interiors. The first office in the Marquette Building to be LEED certified, MPC’s office is also one of the only commercial interiors in a historic building in Chicago to earn LEED Gold certification.
The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) developed LEED as an internationally recognized rating system to evaluate sustainable and environmentally-friendly design. LEED provides building owners, operators, designers, and contractors with guidelines for building in practical and measurable ways to reduce environmental impact. The rating system applies to all kinds of construction projects and covers the many stages of a building’s life cycle, including design, construction, maintenance, and tenant use. The Commercial Interiors category was created to allow building tenants who may not have control over an entire building make sustainable choices in improving their workplaces.
MPC’s investment in a sustainable office space is further evidence of the organization’s longtime dedication to sensible growth. The renovation ensures lower energy and maintenance costs and a smaller ecological footprint. For example, MPC made a conscious decision to design the office using recycled material produced in the Chicago region. This not only reduced environmental impact and transportation costs, but it also helped the local economy. MPC also made the most of the beautiful, large windows in the office by installing a sunlight and motion-sensitive lighting system. This system uses less energy on sunny days, and no energy at all if no one is around to active the lights. To learn more about the ways MPC’s office is environmentally friendly, take a “green tour” of our new office or, if you’re in the neighborhood, feel free to stop by and check it out in person.
”MPC’s commitment to a sustainable region is reflected in our wise use of valuable space and resources,” said MPC President MarySue Barrett, “and a LEED Gold office space is an important step in signaling our leadership and dedication to sensible growth.”
The “green” office space is just one way MPC is contributing to a healthier future. Whether advocating for a sustainable regional water supply, transportation enhancements to reduce automobile dependency and traffic congestion, more housing near transit options, or safe streets and public spaces that encourage bicycle and pedestrian use, MPC is working for a more sustainable and prosperous metropolitan Chicago from the ground-up. Learn how MPC helped advocate for and shape LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND), an exciting new LEED rating system that recognizes the benefits of smart growth policies and green building to neighborhood planning and design.
MPC Research Assistant Annie Lambla contributed to this article.