MN Sustainability

Minnesota Housing's current fleet includes two plug-in hybrids and three hybrid vehicles, all with a US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emission score rating of 7 or better. An electric vehicle charging station is available at our parking structure. We account for less than 1% of state government’s total fuel use.

Our fleet use increased through 2022 but is still well below pre-pandemic levels as most staff continue to work from home and travel sparingly. We plan to reduce the fleet by 20%. We will continue to keep the remaining vehicles well maintained for fuel-efficiency and provide training to staff on the proper handling of the vehicles and the importance of using efficient fleet vehicles rather than personal vehicles whenever possible.

Since 2017, Minnesota Housing has improved energy efficiency after relocating office space to a newly renovated building and executing a green lease. The green lease includes items like LED lighting, submetering, and light harvesting. We account for less than 1% of state government’s total energy use.

Our energy use remains similar to pre-pandemic levels despite most staff working remotely due to 1) a small increase in staff coming back into the office necessitating the use of office lighting and technology and 2) staff computers needed to remain on so that staff could log into their desktops remotely. We will finish transitioning remote workers to a VPN, which should decrease energy consumption from desktop computers.

Minnesota Housing has improved solid waste diversion through the green lease signed in 2017. Some of the features include centralized recycling centers, organic waste recycling, and signage to promote proper waste sorting. Our diversion rate has improved due to a slightly higher number of staff in the office and our good recycling practices. This has helped to counterbalance the large waste weights stemming from shared waste collection measurements with the landlord. We account for less than 1% of state government’s total waste generation.

We plan to provide additional resources and training to help inform staff of the importance of their actions and being mindful of how to dispose of items as they return to the office. This will help achieve the diversion rate goal.

Driven towards sustainability

Minnesota Housing is the state’s housing finance agency. For more than 50 years, we’ve worked to provide access to safe, decent, and affordable housing and to build stronger communities across the state. In 2022, we distributed $2.18 billion in resources and served more than 109,000 households.

Current Performance Data