Green Initiatives

Mall of America^® is committed to green design. In fact, MOA™ "lives green" 365 days a year and has been committed to the environment since opening in 1992.

Phase II will prioritize continued environmentally responsible design. The project is intended to exceed industry standards and expectations for sustainable design by working closely with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Phase II is designed to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) certification, resulting in a high-performance sustainable facility.

Highlights of Mall of America's green accomplishments reflect 20 years of success and a continued resolve to make Phase II a success for Minnesota and the environment:

• MOA recycles more than 60 percent of its waste – an average of 32,000 tons per year or the equivalent of more than 18,000 cars in a landfill
• MOA recycles more than 2,400 tons of food waste to a local hog farm, which feeds more than one million hog meals annually
• MOA converts the fat from restaurant fryers into more than 4,000 pounds of biodiesel per month - enough fuel for a 53-foot semi-truck to travel from New York to Los Angeles five times
• MOA does not use a central heating system; instead, the comfortable 70 degrees is maintained year-round with passive solar energy from 1.2 miles of skylights and heat generated from store fixtures and lighting and the body heat from more than 40 million visitors
• More than 30,000 live plants and 300 live trees act as natural air purifiers within MOA
• With more than 100 tons of glass bottles recycled at MOA each year, electricity could be provided to more than 3.5 homes using 100-watt light bulbs for eight hours each day for one year
• MOA has more than 275 water-efficient toilets that use only 1.6 gallons per flush compared to the average toilet which uses 3 gallons per flush. The amount of water saved every year exceeds 1.4 million gallons enough to fill three Olympic-size swimming pools.

Phase II will continue this commitment by:

• Diverting at least 50 percent of the construction waste to recycling facilities rather than landfills
• Reducing the environmental impacts from transportation by using building materials that are extracted and manufactured within a 500-mile radius of the project site
• Using water efficient plants and irrigation techniques to reduce the use of potable water techniques by 50 percent
• Reducing the quantity of indoor air contaminants that are harmful by using low-emitting adhesives and sealants, paints and coatings, carpet systems, and composite wood and agrifiber products
• Implementing the sustainable initiatives already made successful in Phase I

Learn more about environmentally responsible design.