Award Recipients

The Cumberland River Compact (CRC)

CRC announced major milestones from its Grazing School, a statewide program helping Tennessee farmers implement water‑friendly agricultural practices that improve soil health, reduce pollution, and strengthen farm operations. The program supports farmers as crucial stewards of the 18,000‑square‑mile Cumberland River basin, one of the most biodiverse regions in the country.

Launched in 2024, the Grazing School is held twice a year in agricultural communities and provides hands‑on training in rotational grazing, pasture management, water quality protection, and animal health. With support from the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture Foundation and Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, the program is free for farmers and led by expert instructors including well‑known grazing specialists and regenerative farmers from across Tennessee. Graduates of the program are eligible for cost‑share funding to implement best management practices such as exclusionary fencing, waterlines, and rotational grazing systems.

Since May 2024, 115 farmers from 40 counties have attended the Grazing School, contributing to over 12,000 acres brought under improved conservation management by 2025. CRC has directly supported 93 historically underserved farmers, including beginning farmers, veterans, and socially disadvantaged producers, increasing access to conservation tools in communities that often face economic barriers.

Participating farmers report significant on‑farm improvements. Projects supported by CRC have reduced nitrogen pollution by 526.85 lbs/year and phosphorus by 31.98 lbs/year, with average reductions of 37% and 28%. These practices address some of Tennessee’s most pressing water quality challenges, including sedimentation, erosion, and bacteria contamination caused by unrestricted livestock access to waterways.

The Grazing School’s farmer‑to‑farmer teaching model is a key driver of its success. Each session is hosted at farms that demonstrate best practices, giving participants real‑world examples of how managed grazing improves productivity, soil health, and water quality. Collaboration with partners across the state including NRCS, UT Extension, Quail Forever, Southeast Tennessee Young Farmers Coalition, and the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute has expanded the program’s reach and technical support network.

CRC will continue growing the program in 2026, including producing a video series highlighting Tennessee farmers who have successfully transitioned to managed grazing. As interest expands statewide, CRC remains committed to supporting farmers as leaders in protecting local waterways and ensuring clean, abundant freshwater for communities across Tennessee.

iFixit

iFixit, the global leader in electronics repair resources and advocacy, has officially launched operations at its newly redeveloped Chattanooga site achieving true net zero energy operations for the full 2025 calendar year. The facility represents a landmark investment in sustainable development, circular‑economy innovation, and community revitalization in Hamilton County.

Located in the historic Onion Bottom Station area, the project transformed a long‑vacant, deteriorating 70,000‑square‑foot warehouse into a modern distribution hub powered by solar energy and geothermal systems. The extensive rehabilitation effort included replacing a failing roof, installing high‑efficiency LED lighting, upgrading insulation, and drilling 16 geothermal wells reaching 400 feet deep to support a highly efficient heating and cooling system. Solar production generated 348,463 kWh in 2025 exceeding onsite demand and resulting in 201,511 kWh supplied back to EPB’s grid, avoiding an estimated 278 tons of CO₂e which is roughly equal to removing 66 gas-powered cars from the road for an entire year.

The Chattanooga site enhances iFixit’s global mission to reduce electronic waste by distributing repair tools, replacement parts, and educational materials that keep devices in service longer. Every shipment from the facility contributes to waste reduction and supports right‑to‑repair efforts across the U.S. and beyond.

The project also delivers significant community benefits. iFixit invested $24.2 million in the redevelopment and is projected to create roughly 200 new jobs over the next five years. By choosing adaptive reuse rather than new construction, the company dramatically reduced embodied carbon while reinvigorating an underserved area of Chattanooga.

iFixit regularly opens its doors for sustainability meetings, community events, and education sessions—sharing its net zero model as a replicable blueprint for organizations seeking to reduce environmental impact through facility design, operations, and mission alignment.

Clarksville-Montgomery County School System (CMCSS)

CMCSS has been recognized for operating Tennessee’s largest propane school bus program, marking a major advancement in clean transportation, student health protections, and statewide environmental leadership. Since 2014, CMCSS has expanded its alternative‑fuel fleet to over 110 propane‑powered buses, representing roughly one‑third of its total fleet and setting a new standard for school transportation across the state.

The district’s transition began with early pilot testing in the 2010s, followed by successful implementation supported by Tennessee’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act program and VW Settlement funding. In 2025, CMCSS added fourteen new propane buses, ordered eleven more, and applied for funding to purchase an additional fifteen, to have a total of 110 propane buses as part of their fleet. The district also built out critical refueling infrastructure, expanding from one to five propane fueling stations between 2019 and 2025.

The environmental benefits of the propane fleet are substantial. According to Argonne National Laboratory’s Heavy‑Duty Vehicle Emissions Calculator, CMCSS achieved a 205% reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and a 414% reduction in PM2.5 emissions compared to replacing old diesel buses with new diesel models. This equates to more than 68,000 lbs of NOx and 368 lbs of PM2.5 eliminated over the lifetime of the vehicles significantly reducing exposure to harmful pollutants for students, drivers, and the wider Montgomery County community.

Beyond environmental gains, CMCSS has realized major financial savings. The district reports over $115,000 in fuel savings, with additional reductions in maintenance costs compared to diesel buses allowing more district resources to be redirected toward student learning.

CMCSS’s leadership has had a statewide impact, inspiring between 15-20 Tennessee school districts that now operate propane buses. Vehicle Maintenance Manager Ricky Phillips and his team have shared expertise across the state, helping other districts evaluate, adopt, and operate propane fleets. Their outreach includes trainings for first responders, district‑to‑district technical support, and participation in statewide clean‑transportation panels.

Partnerships have been critical to the program’s success. CMCSS collaborates closely with East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition, which continues to highlight the district’s progress in outreach campaigns and educational materials. The program’s innovation and impact have earned the district several recognitions, including a One‑Star Tennessee Green Fleet certification and a local award for Outstanding Efforts in Air Quality.

With emissions reductions benefiting residents countywide, the CMCSS propane fleet demonstrates a scalable, replicable model for clean school transportation delivering healthier air for children, cost savings for schools, and environmental leadership for Tennessee.

Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW)

MLGW, in partnership with the City of Memphis, Ameresco, and Ubicquia, has completed a groundbreaking citywide conversion of more than 77,000 streetlights to high‑efficiency LEDs equipped with smart, cellular-based controls. The $47 million initiative represents one of the most ambitious smart lighting transformations in the Southeast and delivers major environmental, economic, and public safety benefits for residents across Memphis.

The upgraded LED system is already achieving approximately 55% annual energy savings, reducing electricity consumption by over 37,000 MWh each year and cutting more than 26,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. These reductions align directly with the Memphis Area Climate Action Plan goal of lowering emissions 51% below 2016 levels by 2035, while enabling the project to effectively pay for itself over time.

In addition to environmental gains, the new lighting improves visibility and strengthens public safety across neighborhoods, business corridors, and school zones. Enhanced illumination and uniformity support safer streets for drivers and pedestrians, while significantly reducing maintenance needs compared to legacy lighting systems. Modernization also increases grid resilience during extreme weather critical for a region frequently impacted by storms and outages.

Each fixture includes a smart controller, allowing real-time outage detection, remote monitoring, and proactive maintenance. This intelligent infrastructure forms a scalable digital backbone capable of supporting future smart city technologies such as traffic analytics, environmental sensors, and public Wi-Fi positioning Memphis as a leader in the emerging “Digital Delta.”

The project also delivered meaningful economic and community benefits. Local workforce participation exceeded the City of Memphis’s goals for Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise involvement, reinforcing the city’s commitment to inclusive growth. A Memphis-based nonprofit, Binghampton Development Corporation, recycled materials from every removed lighting fixture, significantly reducing landfill waste.

The success of the initiative has already catalyzed replication across the region. Following Memphis’s lead, the cities of Arlington, Bartlett, Collierville, and Millington partnered with MLGW to convert an additional 8,000 streetlights, demonstrating the scalability of the model. The project has earned national recognition, including the Smart 20 Award for Transformative City Infrastructure and commendation from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Integrated Lighting Campaign for sustainability in lighting.

With its full-scale LED conversion and smart networking capabilities now complete, Memphis stands at the forefront of sustainable urban infrastructure reducing emissions, improving safety, strengthening resilience, and laying the foundation for future innovation.

Clearloop and Jackson-Madison County School System (JMCSS)

Clearloop and JMCSS, in partnership with Silicon Ranch and the national nonprofit KidWind, launched Energize STEM, an innovative, teacher-centered program that connects renewable energy infrastructure directly to classroom learning. The initiative equips Tennessee educators with standards-aligned training, hands-on materials, and real-world energy data transforming a local solar facility into a living learning laboratory for students across rural and historically underserved communities.

The program officially began in late 2024, with a full-day workshop for 25 middle school educators from JMCSS. Teachers received professional development aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards, $200 in classroom materials, and experiential training that included hands-on energy labs and a virtual reality tour of the Silicon Ranch Jackson II solar facility. The workshop reached full capacity and saw overwhelming educator demand.

During the 2024–2025 school year alone, those trained educators reached more than 2,500 students, embedding renewable energy instruction into required coursework. Early evaluations show 100% of participating teachers reported increased confidence teaching solar concepts.

Energize STEM’s impact is grounded in measurable environmental data from the 1 MW Silicon Ranch Jackson II solar project, which generated 7,056 MWh of clean electricity in its first full year avoiding more than 8.2 million pounds of CO₂ emissions. These local energy metrics are incorporated directly into classroom lessons, giving students tangible insight into how clean energy works and what it means for their own communities.

The program also advances educational equity. JMCSS serves a diverse population ensuring students who have often lacked access to clean energy resources are now positioned at the forefront of STEM opportunity. By focusing on teacher capacity rather than one-time student events, Energize STEM creates a durable, scalable model that grows year after year.

Within its first year, Energize STEM expanded from Jackson to Haywood County Schools in Brownsville, training an additional 28 teachers. As of 2026, the program has engaged 80 teachers across 23 schools, with expansion underway in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Two schools supported by Energize STEM have advanced toward Tennessee’s State STEM School Designation, demonstrating the program’s systemic impact.

Toyota Boshoku Tennessee LLC (TBTN)

TBTN has officially achieved landfill‑free status, reaching an ambitious goal first set in 2020 and positioning the Jackson facility as the top-performing Toyota Boshoku site globally in total material recovery and recycling.

TBTN’s landfill‑free achievement reflects a comprehensive transformation of its operations, guided by the principle that “waste is a resource out of place,” and backed by a facility‑wide culture of data‑driven waste reduction, employee engagement, supplier collaboration, and continuous improvement.

In 2024, the company diverted 9,639 tons of material from landfill with a 98.75% validated diversion rate, generating $3.4 million in recycling revenue. In 2025, diversion increased to 11,921 tons with a 99.24% diversion rate and $3.7 million in recycling revenue an 8.8% year‑over‑year increase.

TBTN’s innovative waste management system includes a structured nine‑step landfill‑free framework, color‑coded recycling stations adopted plant‑wide, and a dedicated sustainability team comprising communications, energy, waste‑reduction, and events groups. This system boosted recycling efforts by 12% after its 2024 rollout and dramatically reduced waste-handling emissions by shifting to a more efficient service provider, cutting CO₂ emissions from transportation by 48% annually.

The program has become a model for other manufacturers, with TBTN leading statewide education and outreach efforts. The company hosted a TDEC sponsored Zero Waste TN event in 2025, diverting 4,800 lbs of community sourced materials including batteries, e‑waste, paper, tires, and plastics from the landfill.

TBTN also supports regional sustainability through annual Earth Day tree distributions, roadway cleanups, and extensive community partnerships. This leadership has earned broad recognition, including TBTN’s membership in the Tennessee Green Star Partnership, live media coverage of its sustainability events, and the Greater Jackson Chamber’s 2025 Industry of the Year Award for environmental stewardship and community impact.

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTnRB)

KTnRB the nation’s first Keep America Beautiful affiliate dedicated solely to a river system celebrates a record‑breaking year of habitat restoration, conservation education, and regional stewardship across the seven‑state watershed.

In 2025, KTnRB surpassed the milestone of one million pounds of trash removed since launching boat-based cleanups in 2019, engaging more than 5,000 volunteers to restore shorelines throughout the Tennessee River watershed. Cleanups in 2025 alone removed over 200,000 pounds of debris for the third year in a row, including 34,660 lbs from Douglas Lake, 8,071 lbs from Norris Lake, 20,695 lbs from Fort Loudoun Lake, and 4,638 lbs from the Nolichucky River as part of disaster-recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene.

KTnRB also achieved transformational growth through its Adopt a River Mile Program, which reached 312 total adopted miles by early 2026 with support from 202 adoptees its largest steward network to date. In 2025, adoptees removed 61,535 pounds of trash, contributing to a lifetime total of 337,053 pounds removed since reporting began in 2021. The program’s volunteer impact has generated an estimated $74,809 in community value, demonstrating the long‑term economic and environmental return of local stewardship. Groups like the “Whispering River Trash Panda Task Force” alone removed 2,138 pounds across two cleanups in 2025, exemplifying the community-driven momentum of the program.

KTnRB further expanded its conservation leadership through the innovative Tennessee River Mussel Movement Initiative, designed around five action goals: conserve, inspire, educate, document, and value. The nonprofit hosted the first annual Tennessee River Watershed Mussel Fest, drawing over 200 attendees to Seven Islands State Birding Park. More than 200 wavy‑rayed lamp mussels were released into the French Broad River, and an additional 60 juvenile mussels were placed into protective silos, achieving a 100% survival rate by year’s end.

Freshwater mussels play a critical ecological and economic role, each filtering thousands of gallons of water annually. Research led by Dr. Michael McKinney of the University of Tennessee estimates mussels collectively provide $2.92 billion in natural water filtration worldwide each year, underscoring their enormous value to water quality and biodiversity in the Tennessee River, the most biodiverse river system in North America. KTnRB has helped breathe new life into the energy around freshwater mussels in our region.

The organization also achieved a major milestone in its Cigarette Litter Prevention & Recycling Program: one million cigarette butts recycled since 2019. More than 1,400 receptacles have been installed across Tennessee State Parks, Dollywood, industrial facilities, and marinas. Dollywood alone has recycled over 800,000 cigarette butts, preventing toxins and microplastics from entering nearby waterways and reinforcing private‑sector leadership in watershed protection.

Announcement will take place September 14, 2026.

Carlex Glass America, LLC

Carlex Glass America, LLC announced major sustainability achievements through its participation in TVA’s EnergyRight Strategic Energy Management (SEM) program, completing a transformative two‑year initiative that resulted in 3.4 million kilowatt hours of energy savings from October 2024 to the end of 2025. This accomplishment reflects the facility’s strong commitment to reducing energy intensity, improving manufacturing efficiency, and strengthening environmental stewardship.

As a leading automotive glass manufacturer, Carlex operates energy intensive processes including cutting, tempering, laminating, and advanced glass assembly. Through SEM, the Nashville facility implemented a suite of energy saving strategies optimizing equipment use to prevent idle waste, adopting fan‑forced air in place of compressed air in targeted areas, and addressing compressed air leaks using advanced detection tools provided through partner collaboration.

A comprehensive overhaul of building and process HVAC systems contributed significantly to the results. Carlex improved the performance of roughly 500 HVAC units, ranging from office systems to 300‑ton process chillers supporting safety critical windshield lamination. Improvements included updated set point controls, replacement of failed compressors with high‑efficiency units, and enhanced preventive maintenance practices. TVA’s onsite assessments also informed future investments, including upgraded chiller systems planned for 2027.

The facility also advanced lighting efficiency by initiating LED installation campaigns across new and existing equipment areas and partnered with TVA EnergyRight specialists to evaluate dust collectors and other major systems for additional savings. The TVA team supported Carlex in securing incentives for modernized equipment including Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) integration—to lock in long‑term energy reductions.

Carlex’s SEM journey highlights strong innovation, including replacing compressed‑air cooling with more efficient fan‑forced solutions, and upgrading key production equipment to reduce electrical demand. Together, these improvements not only surpassed initial energy‑saving targets but also revealed further opportunities for operational enhancement.

The success of the SEM initiative reflects deep leadership commitment across Carlex, where managers supported compressed‑air studies, HVAC modernization, and systematic equipment upgrades. Collaboration with TVA EnergyRight, Nashville Electric Service (NES), other Carlex plants, and external contractors strengthened technical capabilities and provided specialized tools and expertise helping embed energy efficiency into site culture.

These efforts also delivered lasting environmental and community benefits, easing strain on Nashville’s power grid and improving energy reliability for nearby communities. By reducing electricity demand, Carlex contributes to a more resilient regional energy system and supports broader sustainability goals across Tennessee.

Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency (TWRA)

A coalition of state, federal, and nonprofit partners completed the Harm’s Mill Dam Removal and Elk River Restoration Project, restoring the free-flowing condition of one of Tennessee’s most biologically significant rivers. The obsolete low‑head dam was a longtime barrier to aquatic species and a public‑safety hazard and was removed in late 2025, marking the largest dam removal of its kind in Tennessee.

Located in Lincoln County, Harm’s Mill Dam was the only major barrier on the mainstem of the Elk River, dividing 804 downstream miles from 780 upstream miles. Its removal reconnected an extraordinary 1,114 miles of free‑flowing river, immediately reopening migration routes for fish, mussels, and other aquatic wildlife.

The ecological benefits are among the most significant of any recent restoration project in the state. According to TWRA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 46 species of greatest conservation need will benefit, including 19 federally listed species such as the rare boulder darter and multiple imperiled mussel species. Agencies also relocated sensitive fish and mussels before demolition to ensure species protection during construction.

Beyond its ecological value, the project improves public safety and recreation. The deteriorated dam and abandoned powerhouse had become a known hazard, attracting visitors despite unstable conditions. The dam removal reduces danger to paddlers and anglers while enhancing overall river health and recreational quality on a popular paddling destination.

The project reflects years of coordinated leadership. TWRA acquired the site in 2021, permitting was completed in 2024, species protection efforts began in September 2025, and full removal was completed within weeks in late 2025. This multi‑year effort included collaboration among The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Maddox Family Foundation, with major funding from the National Fish Passage Program.

This work also advances a broader regional strategy where Harm’s Mill had been identified as a cornerstone project in a growing pipeline to remove three to five obsolete dams in the next five years, amplifying long‑term river restoration across Tennessee and the Southeast.

The removal of Harm’s Mill Dam restores one of Tennessee’s most important river systems and protects nearly 50 at‑risk species and demonstrates what’s possible when agencies, conservation organizations, and funders come together around a shared stewardship mission.

OxyChem

OxyChem’s New Johnsonville facility announced significant progress in environmental performance and operational reliability following the expansion of its award‑winning Hydrogen Boiler Clean Air project into a comprehensive, sitewide continuous‑improvement initiative. Building on its prior Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award in the Clean Air category from 2023, the facility transformed the project into a long‑term program focused on energy efficiency, mechanical reliability, waste minimization, and water stewardship.

A cornerstone achievement of the initiative includes restoring hydrogen boiler performance after inspections revealed fouling in burner feed components. Corrective mechanical cleaning and targeted restoration improved the facility’s hydrogen recovery by 5.6%, generating 20,935 MMBtu per year in recovered energy, and reducing 1,199 tons of CO₂‑equivalent emissions annually. Follow‑up actions delivered an additional 28,691 MMBtu per year in recovered energy and 1,655 tons of CO₂‑equivalent reductions.

Additional major energy savings came from replacing worn cathode coatings on membrane electrolyzer cells, reducing power demand and delivering 16,963 MMBtu per year of energy savings and approximately 972 tons of CO₂ equivalent reductions. These improvements enhanced both process efficiency and product quality.

The site’s waste‑minimization and water‑stewardship initiatives also delivered powerful results. Optimization of ion‑exchange regeneration reduced hydrochloric acid (HCl) consumption by 18%, cut water use by 250,000 gallons per year, and lowered wastewater total dissolved solids by 19%. Instrumentation upgrades on the HCl burner further recovered 72 tons per year of HCl, reducing 59 tons per year of sodium chloride discharged to the Tennessee River.

These efforts collectively provide more than 45,000 MMBtu per year of recovered or saved energy, over 2,600 tons of annual CO₂ equivalent reductions, and measurable improvements to air quality, wastewater quality, and local transportation impacts. The program’s success is sustained through robust key performance indicator tracking across energy use, hydrogen utilization, chemical consumption, wastewater quality, and truck traffic ensuring early detection of performance drifts and long‑term accountability.

OxyChem New Johnsonville’s long‑standing commitment has transformed environmental excellence into an everyday operational discipline by prioritizing planned downtime, mechanical reliability, and data‑driven decision making.