Sustainable Buildings

The Minnesota Department of Administration (Admin) provides enterprise-wide leadership to ensure all state government buildings are sustainable and energy efficient. 

The Department's Real Estate and Construction Services division is responsible for designing and constructing sustainable buildings for the State of Minnesota and serves a key role in developing and supporting the state's sustainable building guidelines.

Minnesota Sustainable Building Guidelines 

The sustainable building guideline used by Admin and the state at large is called Buildings, Benchmarks & Beyond (B3). The Department of Administration works with the Minnesota Department of Commerce, the University of Minnesota's Center for Sustainable Building Research, and outside contractors and consultants to develop and support B3. The guidelines are updated regularly. 

B3 is similar to other energy-efficient building standards, such as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, but it has been tailored to the specific needs of Minnesota buildings. 

Applicability and Using B3

B3 Guidelines are required on all state-funded projects in Minnesota, but they can be easily applied to any building project. To ensure your building projects are following B3 guidelines, reach out to our construction services contacts or email gudelines@b3mn.org for assistance.  

B3 Sustainable Building Resources