Thirty Minnesota cities are now participating in the GreenStep Cities program, and the League of Minnesota Cities recently recognized 26 of these cities at their annual conference in Rochester, MN (four more have signed up since).
Launched in June 2010, GreenStep Cities is a voluntary challenge, recognition and assistance program that helps cities achieve their sustainability goals. The program offers twenty-eight best practices in five categories – buildings and lighting, transportation, land use, environmental management, and community and economic development-and focuses on cost savings, energy use reduction, and encouraging innovation. Cities can choose among a suite of actions to implement each best practice and can receive technical assistance from experts in state agencies, university, and nonprofit organizations.
GreenStep Cities recognizes cities at various steps based on the number of best practices they’ve implemented. All twenty-six participating cities that passed resolutions to join the program were honored with the “Step 1” designation. Seven of those cities implemented a sufficient number of actions to achieve the “Step 2” designation.
Participating cities undertook energy efficiency improvements in their facilities and carried out many other sustainability initiatives. For example, the city of Oakdale reduces permit fees for LEED-certified buildings, the city of Milan committed to purchasing Energy Star-labeled appliances, the city of Hopkins installed two electric vehicle charging stations, and the city of Eagan built the nation’s first Green Globes certified fire station.
GreenStep Cities is a program of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources, the League of Minnesota Cities, the Clean Energy Resource Teams, the Urban Land Institute Minnesota, the Izaak Walton League – Minnesota Division, and the Great Plains Institute.
