Business Award Opportunities

We recognize your efforts to improve your facility and lessen your environmental impact. However, other organizations are also waiting to recognize your efforts. Listed below are select awards for business that have made environmental improvements and for those that operate using best practices overall.

Environmental Awards

Program	Description	Deadline
Clean Air Excellence Awards Program	This U.S. EPA program honors outstanding, innovative efforts that support progress in achieving cleaner air. Open to both public and private entities in the United States.	September
Environmental Initiative Awards	Awarded by the Environmental Initiative to recognize companies and organizations that have taken the lead in executing substantial changes in response to pressing environmental issues.	Annually
Green Star Award	This program, administered by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, encourages industries, businesses, and governments to examine how well a facility’s operations are complying with local, state, and federal environmental regulations, and correct problems that are identified.	Open
Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Award	The Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Awards recognize outstanding efforts in environmental performance in the health care sector.	March
Industrial Environmental Achievement Award	The Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Awards recognize outstanding efforts in environmental improvement. There are awards to fit different levels of achievement along the path to sustainability.	January
Most Valuable Pollution Prevention Awards (MVP2 Award)	MVP2, as awarded by the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable, recognizes innovative industrial, regulatory and non-regulatory pollution prevention (P2) projects and initiatives. The MVP2 Awards are open to all levels of government, industry, and non-profits.	July
Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards	These U.S. EPA awards recognize innovative chemical technologies that incorporate green chemistry into chemical design, manufacture and use — and that have broad applications in industry. Nominated technologies should reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances from a chemical product or process.	December
RAM Awards	The Recycling Association of Minnesota recognizes the environmental stewardship efforts of community groups, businesses, public entities, and individuals that benefit the communities in Minnesota.	Fall
U.S. EPA WasteWise Awards Program	Each year, EPA recognizes outstanding achievements of its partners by presenting “Partner of the Year” awards in several categories, including business, government, and educational sectors.	April

Performance Awards

Program	Description	Deadline
Manufacturer of the Year Awards	The Manufacturers Alliance recognizes manufacturers that exhibit openness in sharing their experiences with fellow manufacturers in a cooperative fashion, and that actively pursue improvements and openly share their knowledge.	January
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award	US Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) sponsors the Baldrige Award, given by the President of the United States, to recognize businesses that apply and are judged to be outstanding.	February
Governor’s Safety Awards	The Minnesota Safety Council sponsors the program to recognize excellence in accident prevention efforts by employers, communities and state departments.	February-March
Minnesota Tekne Award	The Minnesota High Tech Association and Minnesota Technology, Inc., recognize innovation, development, commercialization, and management of technology in Minnesota.	Summer