Clean Energy Resource Teams

Minnesota GreenStep Cities

Taking action with proven best practices

Interested in taking steps to make your city greener, save energy, and help address global warming? Take a look at GreenStep Cities.

GreenStep Cities is an action-oriented voluntary program offering a cost-effective, simple pathway leading to implementation of sustainable best practices that focus on greenhouse gas reduction. Technical assistance will be available from state agencies, utilities, nonprofit organizations, and others. Cities will be recognized for past steps and new actions.

The full set of draft best practices is now available for comment through May 31st, 2010. Click here to see them now.

GreenStep Cities is under construction and will be formally launched in the summer of 2010. It will evolve based on the feedback of cities large and small across Minnesota. Check out the resources below to learn more about the program.

Get Started:

• Download a factsheet >>
• Watch and download introductory presentation >>
• Download the 2009 report to the legislature >>
• Learn more about a related opportunity, GreenCorps >>
• Watch a video about city sustainability efforts >>
   

GreenStep Cities Overview

 
GreenStep Cities will:

• Achieve meaningful reductions in greenhouse gases and other positive environmental outcomes
• Provide assistance and peer learning for local governments to achieve best practices in energy use reduction and sustainable development
• Provide a “Pathway to Sustainability” that is cost-effective, pragmatic, and achievable for all cities
• Identify specific existing state agency staff and others who are committed to and technically able to help cities implement each specific best practice
• Promote innovation
• Inspire and assist residents, businesses, and community institutions to take action
• Recognize local governments for their past accomplishments and their new efforts spurred by the program

Best Practices are straightforward, selected using simple criteria, and focus on cost-effective options. Now in development, a full suite of 27 best practices in five categories will be available in Spring 2010.

Technical assistance to take action: Multiple technical assistance options are planned and will include agency staff, Clean Energy Resource Teams, other nonprofit groups, Americorps, utilities, businesses, and student interns. Will be finalized summer 2010.

Recognition for past actions and new successes: Cities that accomplish an initial set of best practices—a few required and a few from a list of best practice options—will be recognized as a Minnesota GreenStep City by the State of Minnesota. As a continuous improvement program, GreenStep also offers more challenging best practices, and those cities implementing a suite of these will be recognized for an additional period. Specific recognition tools will be developed summer 2010.
 

Introductory Presentation

 
This presentation provides an introduction to Minnesota GreenStep Cities, an action-oriented voluntary program offering a cost-effective, simple pathway to implementation of sustainable development best practices that focus on greenhouse gas reduction. This presentation walks through the basics of the program and the simple steps it takes for any city in Minnesota to get started.

Download presentation >>
 

Next Steps & Getting Involved

 
What’s Next:

• Refine program design (spring, summer 2010)
• Conduct additional analytic work to assess the economic, energy, greenhouse gas, and other environmental benefits of implementing each best practice (summer 2010)
• Develop a suite of technical assistance options (summer 2010)
• Launch pilot version of program (summer 2010)

SIGN UP NOW for the NextStep newsletter at www.NextStep.state.mn.us to get program updates and be one of the first cities to work on GreenStep best practices.

Contact Philipp Muessig, Sustainable Communities Coordinator, at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s Prevention and Assistance Division: philipp.muessig@state.mn.us or 651-757-2594.
 

Green Cities Leading the Way

 
Green Cities Leading the Way is a coproduction of League of Minnesota Cities and Twin Cities Public TV. This 27 minute documentary highlights the sustainability measures being taken by four trailblazing Minnesota cities: Barnesville, Elk River, Minneapolis, and New Ulm.
To see case studies on these cities, click here.

GreenStep Cities is a public/private partnership administered by Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s Prevention and Assistance Division. Other partners are the Clean Energy Resource Teams, the League of Minnesota Cities, the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Office of Energy Security, the University of MN Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships, Center for Energy and the Environment, Great Plains Institute, Green Institute, The Minnesota Project, and the Urban Land Institute MN.