At a glance
Accenture Tower is a 1,855,810-square-foot office building at 500 West Madison Street in Chicago, Illinois, built in 1986. In its 2023 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 70 out of 100 (grade B), a site energy-use intensity of 52.5 kBtu/ft² and 13,621 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 38% of the 320 scored office buildings in Chicago.
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance · reporting year 2023
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 70 (band B) |
| Site EUI | 52.5 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 146.9 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 13,621 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 7.3 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 28,530,926 kWh |
| Water use | 16,966 kgal |
| Gross floor area | 1,855,810 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:101727:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 70 | +5 | 52.5 kBtu/ft² | 13,621 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 65 | +7 | 53.2 kBtu/ft² | 12,992 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 58 | -1 | 47.7 kBtu/ft² | 12,647 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 59 | -5 | 49.7 kBtu/ft² | 14,397 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 64 | +11 | 58.5 kBtu/ft² | — |
| 2018 | 53 | -27 | 61.4 kBtu/ft² | 18,971 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 80 | -1 | 64.3 kBtu/ft² | 22,067 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 81 | -4 | 66.1 kBtu/ft² | 22,621 tCO₂e |
| 2015 | 85 | +12 | 57.0 kBtu/ft² | 21,242 tCO₂e |
| 2014 | 73 | 74.0 kBtu/ft² | 27,654 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
- 500 West Madison Street
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60661
- Coordinates
- 41.95362, -87.64521
Within ~1 km
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See also: most efficient in Chicago · biggest emitters
How does Accenture Tower compare with other office buildings in Chicago?
The latest disclosures cover 387 office buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. Accenture Tower's ENERGY STAR score of 70 compares with an average of 69 across the 320 that report a score; it scores higher than 38% of them and lower than 60%. Its site EUI of 52.5 kBtu/ft² is about 25% 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 7.3 kgCO₂e/ft² is roughly in line with the group average of 7.5 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 1,855,810 sq ft, it is about 280% above the average floor area of 488,124 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1986, 30 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 Accenture Tower's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 10 Chicago disclosures for Accenture Tower, covering report years 2014–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 73 in 2014 to 70 in 2023 (-3 points); its best year on file was 2015, at 85. Site EUI moved from 74.0 kBtu/ft² (2014) to 52.5 kBtu/ft² (2023), a 29% decrease. Reported emissions went from 27,654 tCO₂e to 13,621 tCO₂e over the same span (down 51%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 70 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 70 means the building performs better than about 70% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 70 falls in band B — above median (70–84). It sits 5 points below 75, the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification. 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. Accenture Tower's 52.5 kBtu/ft² across 1,855,810 sq ft works out to about 97.4 billion Btu (28,554 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 146.9 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 28,530,926 kWh of electricity and 16,966 thousand gallons of water for the year.
Which law requires Accenture Tower to report its energy use?
Accenture Tower 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:101727:2023). 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
- 175 W. Jackson· 1,809,140 sq ft · score 79 (B)
- 320 South Canal· 1,797,756 sq ft · EUI 37.0 kBtu/ft²
- 110 North Wacker Drive - Bank of America Tower· 1,731,460 sq ft · score 66 (C)
- 71 South Wacker· 1,684,534 sq ft · score 88 (A)
- One North Wacker· 1,614,398 sq ft · score 80 (B)
- 55 East Monroe Office· 1,609,901 sq ft · score 67 (C)
- 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 Accenture Tower's energy grade?
Accenture Tower scores 70 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band B, above median (70–84) — in its 2023 Chicago disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does Accenture Tower use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 52.5 kBtu/ft² (146.9 kBtu/ft² source) across 1,855,810 sq ft, including 28,530,926 kWh of electricity.
What are Accenture Tower's carbon emissions?
Accenture Tower reported 13,621 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (7.3 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is Accenture Tower?
Accenture Tower is at 500 West Madison Street, in Chicago, Illinois 60661. Its coordinates are 41.95362, -87.64521 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is Accenture Tower and when was it built?
Accenture Tower has 1,855,810 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1986 as its year built. It is classed as office.
Is Accenture Tower 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, “Accenture Tower, Chicago, Illinois — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/accenture-tower-6ad26bf6 (data as of October 2, 2026).