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.  

Planning for B3

Predesign Manual for more details on B3 considerations and preparing for successful integration of B3 guidance and energy standards.

Design Guidelines work in tandem with the B3 Guidelines to deliver sustainable buildings.

See the sections below for more information and resources about B3 and sustainable buildings. 

B3 Sustainable Building Resources

• B3 Home Page
  Online home for B3 resources and information.
• B3 Guidelines
  For use in design of new buildings and renovation projects.
• B3 Sustainable Building 2030 (SB2030) Energy Standard
  For use in meeting energy usage goals. Automatically included whenever B3 Guidelines are used.
• Training and Education
  Provides session recordings and slides on B3 guideline topics.
• B3 Benchmarking Tool
  For use in tracking and rating the energy efficiency of existing buildings.
  • See also: Admin Plant Management Division (PMD) Data in B3 Benchmarking Tool
• B3/SB 2030 Energy Efficient Operations Manual (B3 EEOM)
  For use in minimizing energy use in daily building operations. 
• B3 Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE)
  For use in determining occupants' perceptions of building indoor environmental quality. Required for all B3 buildings. 
• B3 Case Studies
  Review how buildings around the state are achieving positive results through B3.