Skip to main content

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.

Use the "E-Subscribe" box on this page to sign up for monthly emails promoting sustainability education and events throughout Bloomington.

Sustainability accomplishments

Partners in Energy

The City of Bloomington works with Xcel Energy to promote efficient electricity use in our community through the Partners in Energy (PIE) program. This two-year initiative, begun in 2018, includes a community action plan for reduced electricity consumption, as well as provide tools and resources to enable and guide implementation of the strategies for achieving those goals. Click here for more information.

Donaldson Company: Increasing Efficiencies and Reducing Waste

Donaldson board room

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

Common area of Quality Bicycle Products uses lots of natural light options.

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.

PDF icon 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

blah

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 two months of the program!

Contact Information

E-Subscribe

Get email updates about Environmental Sustainability.

Tennessen warning
Please take notice that any data received by the City as the result of submitting this form will be classified as government data pursuant to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, Minnesota Statutes Chapter 13. Under the Data Practices Act, some or all of this data is classified as public data, including your name, address, email address, phone number, and other personal information provided by you. Public data is available to anyone requesting it and consists of all data furnished via this Web form. Please be advised that the correspondence will be added to the public record. The purpose and intended use of the information collected through this form is to obtain public input and data in support of City activities and services. You have the right to refuse to submit this form. If you choose not to submit this form, you will need to contact the City by another means if you wish to provide the information collected by the form.

Nondiscrimination and accommodation commitments
The City of Bloomington does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its services, programs, or activities. Upon request, accommodation will be provided to allow individuals with disabilities to participate in all City of Bloomington services, programs, and activities. Upon request, this information can be provided in Braille, large print, audio tape and/or electronic format.