ROCHESTER, Minn. – The man in charge of energy and sustainability goals for the City of Rochester and the Destination Medical Center Economic Development Agency has been given the 2109 Circle of Excellence Award.

Kevin Bright received the honor on November 7 at the annual meeting of the U.S. Green Building Council Minnesota.

Bright joined the Destination Medical Center EDA and Rochester city government in 2017 to ensure development projects meet energy and sustainability goals outlined in the DMC development plan. He organizes the Energy Integration Committee, a collection of energy-focused stakeholders to discuss and implement high-level energy goals for development.

In 2018, Rochester was recognized as the state of Minnesota’s first LEED Gold City by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environment Design, is a globally recognized green building rating system that provides a framework to create healthy, efficient, and cost-saving cities, communities and buildings.

Bright helped launch the Voluntary Energy Benchmarking Program in February 2019, which invites Rochester business and building owners to track their energy use and identify ways to save money on utility bills. Since the program began, 20 businesses signed up and 90 buildings joined, comprising more than 14 million square feet of space in Rochester. He also created the monthly DMC Sustainability Series, a free, monthly presentation on a variety of sustainability topics.