Hennepin County has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050. The county is one of 12 founding members of the Cool County Initiative, a coalition of counties across the United States responding to the challenges that climate change poses to their communities. To meet this goal, Hennepin County will track and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from county operations.

The mission of Hennepin County is to enhance the health, safety and quality of life for county residents and communities in a respectful, efficient and fiscally responsible way. In meeting this mission, Hennepin County has been a leader in energy conservation initiatives.

In cooperation with the University of Minnesota College of Design, Hennepin County created the first sustainable building design standards in Minnesota. The county’s Public Works Facility, commissioned in 1997, was the first structure in Minnesota to adopt the standard. The State of Minnesota incorporated these Sustainable Building Guidelines as the core of its Buildings, Benchmarking and Beyond program that is applied to all public buildings in the state.

Hennepin County was instrumental in building the Twin Cities first light rail service in nearly 50 years and has been at the center of projects to expand light rail service and build commuter rail.

For more information, visit the county’s Green Government website.