Municipal Buildings Decarbonization

During 2025, the City of Saint Paul developed a Municipal Buildings Decarbonization Plan that defined a roadmap for how to reach carbon neutrality in building operations by 2030.

The City has already reduced its building emissions by 46% between 2015-2024, and will ramp up decarbonization efforts over the next five years by increasing energy efficiency, electrifying priority buildings, and expanding the use of renewable energy as outlined in the roadmap.

Roadmap to Carbon Neutral Municipal Buildings

Improving Energy Efficiency in City Buildings

The City of Saint Paul is tracking energy use for city-owned and operated properties using the B3 Benchmarking platform, which helps City departments and staff identify opportunities for improving the energy performance of municipal buildings.

Investing in building improvements - such as LED lighting retrofits or upgrading HVAC systems with more efficient equipment and controls - are decreasing energy consumption and saving money on utility costs for City departments. Many of these energy efficiency projects in past years were paid for using the City's Green Revolving Loan Fund.

Here are some examples of energy efficiency projects previously completed at City buildings:

• Community/Recreation Center Lighting Projects Summary (2023)
• Public Works: Field Validation of Lighting Retrofit with HVAC Integration (2021)
• City Buildings Lighting Project Summary (2018-2021)

In 2022, the City of Saint Paul joined the U.S. Department of Energy's Better Climate Challenge.

As a partner in this voluntary program, the City receives data analysis and technical assistance to support its efforts to achieve carbon neutral operations.

Designing More Sustainable Buildings

The City of Saint Paul is also incorporating energy efficiency and other sustainability measures during the design and construction of new facilities, as well as during large renovation projects, by aligning with guidelines under the Saint Paul Sustainable Building Ordinance.

To date, a handful of municipal buildings have been recognized for integrating sustainable aspects into their designs:

• LEED® Certification: Saint Paul Fire Station Headquarters
• LEED® Certification: Saint Paul Western District Police Station
• B3 Case Study: Arlington Hills Community Center
• B3 Case Study: Como Park Aquatic Center
• B3 Case Study: Richard H. Rowan Public Safety Training Center
• B3 Case Study: Sun Ray Library