At a glance
222 South Riverside is a 1,237,455-square-foot office building at 222 South Riverside Plaza in Chicago, Illinois, built in 1971. In its 2023 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 85 out of 100 (grade A), a site energy-use intensity of 56.1 kBtu/ft² and 6,936 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 80% of the 320 scored office buildings in Chicago.
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance · reporting year 2023
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 85 (band A) |
| Site EUI | 56.1 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 111.8 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 6,936 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 5.6 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 10,963,685 kWh |
| Natural gas | 320,417 therms |
| Water use | 19,287 kgal |
| Gross floor area | 1,237,455 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:101753:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 85 | +3 | 56.1 kBtu/ft² | 6,936 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 82 | -2 | 70.1 kBtu/ft² | 8,554 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 84 | -8 | 68.5 kBtu/ft² | 9,038 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 92 | +7 | 68.0 kBtu/ft² | 9,696 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 85 | +3 | 79.0 kBtu/ft² | — |
| 2018 | 82 | -12 | 79.9 kBtu/ft² | 12,289 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 94 | +3 | 75.6 kBtu/ft² | 13,230 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 91 | +5 | 83.5 kBtu/ft² | 14,677 tCO₂e |
| 2015 | 86 | +2 | 87.6 kBtu/ft² | 17,073 tCO₂e |
| 2014 | 84 | 94.0 kBtu/ft² | 17,934 tCO₂e |
Compliance context
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance
Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.
Ownership
No owning organisation shown. Names of private individuals in the disclosure are not published here.
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Location
- Address
- 222 South Riverside Plaza
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60606
- Coordinates
- 41.87463, -87.63042
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
- 10/30 South Wackerscore 72
Office · 3,014,304 sq ft
- Chase Tower Chicagoscore —
Financial Office · 2,521,929 sq ft
- AMA Plazascore 58
Office · 1,870,680 sq ft
- Roosevelt Collectionscore 91
Mixed Use Property · 1,686,996 sq ft
- 55 East Monroe Officescore 67
Office · 1,609,901 sq ft
Multifamily Housing · 1,558,561 sq ft
See also: most efficient in Chicago · biggest emitters
How does 222 South Riverside compare with other office buildings in Chicago?
The latest disclosures cover 387 office buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. 222 South Riverside's ENERGY STAR score of 85 compares with an average of 69 across the 320 that report a score; it scores higher than 80% of them and lower than 19%. Its site EUI of 56.1 kBtu/ft² is about 20% below the average of 70.4 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 5.6 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 25% below the group average of 7.5 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 1,237,455 sq ft, it is about 154% above the average floor area of 488,124 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1971, 15 years later than the group's average year built (1957). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 15,264 office buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 73 and a site EUI of 59.3 kBtu/ft².
How has 222 South Riverside's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 10 Chicago disclosures for 222 South Riverside, covering report years 2014–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 84 in 2014 to 85 in 2023 (+1 points); its best year on file was 2017, at 94. Site EUI moved from 94.0 kBtu/ft² (2014) to 56.1 kBtu/ft² (2023), a 40% decrease. Reported emissions went from 17,934 tCO₂e to 6,936 tCO₂e over the same span (down 61%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 85 mean?
ENERGY STAR scores run from 1 to 100 and are computed by the EPA's Portfolio Manager as a percentile against similar buildings nationwide, adjusted for climate, size and use: a score of 85 means the building performs better than about 85% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 85 falls in band A — high performer (85–100). Scores of 75 or higher meet the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification; certification itself is a separate, verified application that the disclosure does not record. In Chicago, 35% of scored buildings are at 75 or above.
Site energy-use intensity (EUI) is the energy a building uses on site in a year divided by its floor area, in thousand Btu per square foot — lower is more efficient. 222 South Riverside's 56.1 kBtu/ft² across 1,237,455 sq ft works out to about 69.4 billion Btu (20,345 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 111.8 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 10,963,685 kWh of electricity, 320,417 therms of natural gas and 19,287 thousand gallons of water for the year.
Which law requires 222 South Riverside to report its energy use?
222 South Riverside reports under the Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance, the legal basis of the Chicago Energy Benchmarking program, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2023 disclosure (source record chicago:101753:2023). Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.
More office buildings in Chicago
- 425 South Financial· 1,237,300 sq ft · score 56 (C)
- 300 South Riverside Plaza· 1,225,724 sq ft · score 82 (B)
- 222 North LaSalle· 1,217,630 sq ft · score 83 (B)
- 20 North Wacker Drive· 1,200,000 sq ft · score 71 (B)
- 77 West Wacker Drive· 1,185,113 sq ft · score 81 (B)
- 231 South LaSalle· 1,181,159 sq ft · score 89 (A)
- Office buildings in Chicago· 387 benchmarked
- All Chicago benchmarked buildings· Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance
- Most efficient large buildings in Chicago
- Least efficient large buildings in Chicago
- Biggest emitters in Chicago
Frequently asked questions
What is 222 South Riverside's energy grade?
222 South Riverside scores 85 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band A, high performer (85–100) — in its 2023 Chicago disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does 222 South Riverside use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 56.1 kBtu/ft² (111.8 kBtu/ft² source) across 1,237,455 sq ft, including 10,963,685 kWh of electricity and 320,417 therms of natural gas.
What are 222 South Riverside's carbon emissions?
222 South Riverside reported 6,936 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (5.6 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is 222 South Riverside?
222 South Riverside is at 222 South Riverside Plaza, in Chicago, Illinois 60606. Its coordinates are 41.87463, -87.63042 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is 222 South Riverside and when was it built?
222 South Riverside has 1,237,455 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1971 as its year built. It is classed as office.
Is 222 South Riverside covered by the Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance?
Yes — it appears in the 2023 Chicago Energy Benchmarking disclosure, which lists the buildings reporting under the Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance.
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About this data
Source: Chicago Energy Benchmarking (Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance), as published October 2, 2026. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: BuildingCensus, “222 South Riverside, Chicago, Illinois — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/222-south-riverside-bf31c017 (data as of October 2, 2026).