3 West Monroe Offices Awarded Prestigious LEED Green Building Certifications

CHICAGO, June 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- West Monroe, a national business and technology consulting firm, today announced three of its offices have been awarded LEED certifications from the U.S. Green Building Council for its efforts in sustainability.

In 2020, West Monroe expanded its office space in three cities—Chicago, Minneapolis, and New York City—to accommodate above-average industry growth. While the firm is still developing its hybrid work model, it committed early on in the pandemic to keeping office space that is used to foster a culture of collaboration, a culture of togetherness, and world-class career development.

The Chicago office, located at 311 W. Monroe St. and finished in September 2020, received LEED Gold. The Minneapolis office, located at 729 N. Washington Ave. and finished in June 2020, received LEED Silver. And the New York office, located at 825 8^th Ave. and finished in October 2020, received LEED Silver. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used green building rating system in the world and an international symbol of excellence. Through design, construction and operations practices that improve environmental and human health, LEED-certified buildings are helping to make the world more sustainable.

"Although the future of work will look different, we believe coming together in person still matters," said Kevin Rooney, chief administration officer for West Monroe. "Our offices at West Monroe are much more than just a place to work, it's where our people enjoy gathering and collaborating with each other and clients to build the next generation of leaders, and that means ensuring a sustainable future."

To accommodate the firm's extraordinary growth, West Monroe built out the three new offices in 2020, increasing its square footage by 140%. The Chicago office and headquarters, now located at the West Monroe HQ, includes a rapidly growing team of industry experts, technologists, and business advisers. The firm's corporate headquarters is also home to a vast majority of the firm's Shared Services teams that span finance, marketing, operations, legal, HR, and more.

The firm is also planning to grow its local New York workforce five-fold by 2025 to 750 employees to address mounting demand for consulting services. To accommodate the growth, West Monroe signed a 10-year lease deal effectively quadrupling the firm's local real estate. The Minneapolis office relocated in 2020 to a new space in the North Loop neighborhood to accommodate its expanded local team and future growth projections. The firm leased more than 42,000 square feet at The Nordic, a unique mixed-use development.

"Social responsibility and sustainability aren't just buzzwords to us, they are a part of our core values and our responsibility as corporate citizens, especially as we continue to grow and expand our footprint," said Caryn Alavi, senior manager of real estate at West Monroe. "Being awarded LEED certifications at three of our offices shows we are acting on our commitment and listening to what's important to our people."

West Monroe achieved the LEED certifications for implementing practical and measurable strategies and solutions in areas including sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. Green buildings allow companies to operate more sustainably and give our people inside them a healthier, more comfortable space to work.

Specific sustainability highlights include:

• Water saving fixtures reducing water by over 34% and saving 414,512 gallons per year in the Chicago office.
• 91% of construction materials were recycled or diverted from landfills in the New York office.
• 100% of insulation, ceiling and flooring materials certified as low VOC (volatile organic compounds) in the Minneapolis office.
• All three offices are centrally located to multiple public transit lines, bicycle networks and walking paths, significantly reducing carbon emissions from driving.

"LEED is a transformative tool that ensures a building is designed and operated to achieve high performance, improve human health and protect the environment," said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO, USGBC. "By prioritizing sustainability, West Monroe's projects are leading the way in their industry and helping USGBC continue towards our goal of green buildings for everyone within this generation."

The firm is committed to helping clients, communities, and West Monroe build a sustainable future.

About West Monroe
West Monroe is a national consulting firm that was born in technology but built for business—partnering with companies in transformative industries to deliver real, measurable results. Technology is who we are, it is not something we bolted on overnight, and we believe it is one of the greatest enablers of business value. That's why we work in diverse, multidisciplinary teams that blend industry expertise with deep operational and technology capabilities to create quantifiable, financial value for our clients. Our 1,500 employees based in eight offices across the United States also own 100% of our business, so when you partner with us you know we are committed—because your success is our success. Our undeniably different approach breeds undeniable results.

About the U.S. Green Building Council
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is committed to a healthy, resilient and equitable future for all through the development of green buildings, cities and communities. For more than 20 years, USGBC has been advancing green building practices through the development of LEED, the world's most widely used green building program. With the support of thousands of members, volunteers and partners, USGBC provides robust green building education courses, a rigorous professional credentialing program, and advocates for effective public policies. It convenes an international network of green building and sustainability leaders through the annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, and forward thinking programs, including the Center for Green Schools. For more information, visit usgbc.org and connect on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

For all inquiries, please contact:
Christina Galoozis
Senior Manager, External Communications
[email protected]
847.302.1762

SOURCE West Monroe