9 of the World's Tallest and Greenest Skyscrapers

Skyscrapers rise majestically into the heavens. These steel and glass creations changed the landscape of the world's cities as they competed for the title of the world's tallest or the most floors.

The first skyscraper was the Home Insurance Building in Chicago, Illinois that was built in 1885, but soon the word skyscraper came to mean a building that had at least 40 floors and was at least 150 meters high. The honor of which city had the world's largest skyscraper passed between Chicago and New York City for most of the 20th century.

Now, with climate change, the opinions regarding skyscrapers have changed. That's because skyscrapers use a huge amount of resources in terms of electrical power to heat and cool them.

“With today’s technology, a tower will always be more energy-hungry,” Philippe Honnorat, head of building services at WSP in the UK said in a WSP press release “If you’re going to wash or take a shower on the 80th floor, you have to bring the water up there. When you take your shopping up to your apartment in an elevator, that will consume more energy than if you lived on the ground floor.”

The quandary is that while high density buildings are energy hogs, lower density buildings use a lot of valuable land. To accommodate the population increases expected in 2050, cities will have to continue to rise higher. But they will have to become greener.

Here are some of the worlds skyscrapers that have achieved high green status through the global Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accreditation program. All have achieved the two highest – platinum and gold – of four ranks.

This building is the Tallest LEED certified building in the world. It rises an  impressive 509 meters and was built in 2011. It has double-paned blue/green glass curtain walls that help keep 50 percent of solar heat out, has custom lighting controls, low water fixtures, and a smart energy management system. The building was specially designed to withstand typhoons and earthquakes. TAIPEI 101 has LEED Platinum status.

Home of the Bank of America, this 366-meter building that was completed in 2009 and was the first skyscraper to achieve LEED Platinum status. The 55-story building captures and reuses grey water and has its own 4.6 MW cogeneration plant. The building overlooks Bryant Park and has an urban garden that is open to the public.

The skyscraper was completed in 2016 and at 246 meters tall enjoys the status of the second tallest building in Mexico. It's unique column-free architecture makes it strikingly different than the rest of the city it towers over. The buildings incredible energy efficiency earned it LEED Platinum status.

This building was designed to be an example of sustainability for Shenzhen and includes a huge reduction of water use and waste. This, according to LEED earned KK100 Gold status. The buildings curved shape was designed to look like a giant water fountain. Standing an impressive 442 meters tall, skyscraper was completed in 2011 and is the second tallest building in the city's tech center.

When completed in 1973, this 110 story  442-meter building surpassed the World Trade Center to become the tallest building in the world. After a retrofit project that included high-efficiency lighting and am upgraded HVAC system, the Willis Tower realized LEED Gold status.

Built in 1999, the tower achieved LEED Gold status in 2013. The 420-meter tower used traditional Chinese architectural style and with 88 stories is one of the tallest in mainland China. This sustainable building's high conservation standard has a 70 percent recycling rate of durable goods and waste as well as parking space for 7,500 bicycles.

This tallest building in Shenzhen stands a majestic 440 meters in the city's skyline. This building was designed as a green model for the city by providing a sustainable space where people could live, work, eat, and play. Completed in 2011, it received LEED Gold status for its building design, construction, and its greatly reduced water use.

This iconic 102 story Art Deco building in midtown Manhattan was completed in 1931 and rises 443 meters into the air if you include the antenna. The building underwent a renewal and repurposing project to meet modern energy standards and in 2011 it was the tallest and most notable building in the US to receive LEED Gold certification for an existing building. According to Crain's New York Business the skyscraper exceeded the energy forecasts and saved $2.4 million in energy costs that year.

Completed in 2003, the International Finance Center is split into two towers and stands an impressive 412 meters. The tower earned LEED Gold status certification for its unique design that maximizes natural light while minimizing solar heat gain.

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