Sustainable Bloomington

What is Sustainable Bloomington?

In 2016, the Bloomington City Council completed a strategic planning exercise and selected environmental sustainability as a strategic priority for the City of Bloomington. As an effort through the Sustainability Commission and Public Works, Bloomington is working to sustain water, land, energy, and waste by being forward thinking in the way that we address both sustainability and human behavior.

Sustainability Accomplishments

Donaldson Company: Increasing Efficiencies and Reducing Waste

Facility Engineering Manager Bill Coldwell began energy efficiency work on Donaldson’s global headquarters by creating a “to-do” list for the six company-owned campus buildings. He worked with Xcel Energy’s Process Efficiency program in 2010 to assess the half-million-square-foot campus to identify energy saving opportunities. The assessment identified more than 100 recommendations. With the list in hand, Coldwell could prioritize and begin implementing projects. He made fast progress, completing 40 projects in the first two years.

Donaldson Company Case Study

Quality Bicycle Products Leads Bloomington Businesses in Energy Efficiency

As part of the City's Energy Action Plan, Bloomington is working with local businesses to improve energy efficiency and reduce costs. Quality Bicycle Products is committed to making the necessary changes to their infrastructure and to sharing their approach with other businesses who want to implement similar processes. Among their achievements is a Gold LEED certification from the US Green Building Council. Read the attached report from the Center for Energy and Environment which details their lighting system upgrades.

QBP Case Study

Farmer's Market EV Test Drive

On July 21, the Bloomington Farmer’s Market was revving with excitement at its first electric vehicle (EV) test drive event. In partnership with Midwest EVOLVE, the event gave members of the public the opportunity to learn about electric vehicles, talk to EV owners and experts, and get behind the wheel of some of the newest EVs on the market. With an estimated 125+ participants and 40 test drives completed, the event accelerated beyond success!

Bloomington Is a GreenStep City!

Bloomington was proudly named a Step 3 city at the June 2018 League of Minnesota Cities Conference. This program of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency recognizes Minnesota cities for their efforts to incorporate sustainable practices in business and residential area. You can learn more about this achievement from the released article, or by viewing the Minnesota GreenSteps website for more specific information on how Bloomington is working to improve sustainability and quality of life for our community.

Organics Drop-Off

In April 2018, the City of Bloomington established an organics drop-off pilot program to collect organic materials to use in compost. With three locations opened, the program successfully welcomed more than 700 households in only the first 2 months of the program!