The Minnesota GreenStep Cities program is a voluntary challenge, assistance and recognition initiative that helps cities and tribal nations advance their environmental and quality-of-life goals. Through a series of best practices focused on energy efficiency, waste reduction, climate resilience and more, participating communities take measurable steps toward sustainability.

Rochester has been a part of the GreenStep Cities program since 2019 and continues to build on its progress each year. In 2025, the city submitted updated data to track its performance and share results through the dashboard below.

Steps 4 and 5 of the GreenStep Cities program helps the City of Rochester measure progress on key environmental efforts. Each year, the city reports data on areas such as energy use in public buildings, fuel use in city vehicles, water and wastewater systems, solid waste, and renewable energy. This reporting highlights both successes and opportunities for improvement.

To achieve Step 5, the city must show measurable progress in at least three areas reported in Step 4. This process supports informed decision-making and ensures that actions to reduce environmental impact are effective. Rochester’s reported data can be viewed on the Step 4 & 5 Metric Dashboard.

How to Access the Step 4 & 5 Metric Dashboard for Rochester

1. Go to the GreenStep Cities Step 4 & 5 Metric Dashboard: Visit this link
2. At the top of the dashboard page, click the dropdown menu under “Choose a Community.”
3. Select “Rochester”
4. Browse the Metrics: Once Rochester is selected, the dashboard will display the available Step 4 & 5 metrics the city has reported. These cover a range of topics including energy use in city buildings, fleet fuel usage, greenhouse gas emissions and more.
5. Explore Specific Metrics: Click on any metric to see detailed data, including year-over-year trends and comparisons to the median response from other cities. 

Open the Dashboard in a new page.