KBRA Credit Profile Releases Research ? How Green Is Windy City CMBS Office?

KBRA Credit Profile (KCP), a division of KBRA Analytics, releases research on the environmental performance of Chicago CMBS office properties.

Utilizing its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) database, KCP examined the impact of Chicago's 2013 energy benchmarking ordinance on securitized and non-securitized commercial real estate (CRE). We compared the environmental profile of 28 Chicago CMBS office buildings (the studied cohort) across four metrics?the Energy Star score, site energy use intensity (EUI), source EUI, and greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity?against the broader Chicago and U.S. national office markets. The studied cohort, which collateralizes $5.61 billion in securitized balance, ranged in size from 250,000 sf to 3.8 million sf, and averaged 1.3 million sf.

As we examined the factors driving environmental efficiency, several key themes emerged:

• Chicago office properties have seen improvements in energy usage on average since the onset of the ordinance in 2013, and they have reported above-average median Energy Star scores relative to the national median since 2014.
• In 2019, the most recent reported data year, Chicago CMBS office properties outperformed the broader Chicago office market in three of the four analyzed metrics: Energy Star score, source EUI, and GHG intensity. In total, 18 of the 28 CMBS office buildings received LEED certification from the U.S Green Building Council (USGBC), including six that are Platinum certified. Fifteen of the 18 LEED-certified office buildings are also considered Class A.
• Improvements in energy usage and emissions since the ordinance was implemented may be partly due to Chicago office building owners investing in infrastructure upgrades.
• Despite improvements made in site and source EUIs since 2014, Chicago office buildings continue to lag the national median EUIs.

Click here to view the report and visit kcp.kbra.com for more information about KCP's ESG data offering, which now includes social metrics.

About KBRA Credit Profile

KBRA Credit Profile (KCP) is a research service and nothing herein or otherwise provided by KCP shall be construed as a rating. Any rating opinions, analysis, projections, observations, data or other items constituting part of any information provided or distributed by KCP or KBRA are and must be construed solely as statements of opinion and not statements of fact.

About KBRA Analytics

KBRA Analytics, LLC (KBRA Analytics) is our premier product platform for high quality data and advanced analytics. Our seasoned teams of industry specialists across each product provide unparalleled insight creating a foundation of deeper analysis and rapid discovery for users. KBRA Analytics is an affiliate of Kroll Bond Rating Agency, LLC (KBRA). KBRA is a full-service credit rating agency registered in the U.S., designated to provide structured finance ratings in Canada, and with credit rating affiliates registered in the EU and UK.