For the third year running, the City of Maplewood has received an award from the GreenStep Cities Program for achieving Step 5 recognition, the highest level of achievement in the program. To receive and maintain Step 5 designation, the City must measure and report improvements in core sustainability metrics.

This year, Maplewood improved on 9 metrics: resident access to bike trails, new tree plantings, both residential and commercial waste generation, recycling rate, both number and capacity of renewable energy installations, greenhouse gas emissions from waste, and number of electric vehicle charging stations.

“This award is a great achievement for Maplewood,” said Mayor Marylee Abrams of Maplewood. “And by being part of the program, Maplewood and our peers are helping to make Minnesota more resilient for the future while also helping our cities thrive economically.”

As one of 127 participating cities and tribal nations participating in GreenStep Cities, the City of Maplewood is helping to lead the way in sustainability across the state of Minnesota. The City of Maplewood has worked hard to implement best practices in order to fulfill their sustainability goals. Actions that are taken within the program focus on cost savings, energy use reduction, resource conservation, and the encouragement of civic innovation.

Below are the metrics Maplewood improved on between 2017 and 2018:

- Increase in percent of housing within 1 mile of a bicycle route
- Increase in number of electric vehicle charging stations
- Increase in number of trees planted in public places
- Increase in percent of waste recycled
- Increase in number of city-owned and privately-owned renewable energy generation sites
- Increase in generation capacity from city- and privately-owned renewable energy generation sites

- Decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from waste
- Decrease in residential solid waste generated per resident per day
- Decrease in commercial solid waste generated per job per day