MPCA State Agency Sustainability Action Plans
State agencies are uniquely positioned to be leaders in saving energy, reducing waste and improving air quality in Minnesota. The Governor's Executive Order 11-12 and Governor’s Executive Order 11-13 affects all state agencies, and are designed to drive cost savings as well as reduce energy use and the environmental impacts of state government.
Executive Order 11-12 requires agencies with operational control over state buildings to achieve an aggregate 20 percent reduction in energy use from the baseline data entered into the B3 Energy Benchmarking tool or the year immediately before the agency initiated their energy improvements, whichever is later.
Executive Order 11-13 sets targets for waste management and toxics reduction, air pollution, renewable energy production, energy efficiency in leased buildings, environmentally preferable procurement and fleet management.
Executive Order 11-13 also requires each agency to annually prepare a Sustainability Plan that describes the strategies agencies will use to accomplish the outcomes established in both Executive Order 11-12 and 11-13. The plans must be created by June 30 of each year using the Sustainability Plan Form (p-p2s9-14). However, in 2012, the Commissioner of the MPCA is allowing state agencies until September 24, 2012 to report strategies for both Executive Orders in the revised form.
The University of Minnesota, the Minnesota State Colleges and University system, and Metropolitan Council are also highly encouraged to participate.
The progress from these strategies is summarized and reported to the Legislature in the bienial report 
Progress in Addressing Climate Change. 
The details are found in 
State of Minnesota Agency Sustainability Plans (p-p2s9-16).
The chart below indicates progress among state agencies in reaching one of the targets for environmentally preferable procurement.
The following are examples of successful sustainability projects which have been carried out at MPCA. More case studies will be available here in the future.