American Climate Leadership Awards
America’s Climate Leaders
Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2026 broadcast on YouTube. Meet this year’s honorees and explore the most effective climate solutions from across the country.
ecoAmerica’s American Climate Leadership Awards (ACLA) recognize the most effective climate solutions in the US, showcasing a nationwide group of leaders working to broaden participation in climate action. Collectively, 2026 finalists receive more than $200,000 to scale their work across sectors, including agriculture, health, faith communities, civic networks, and youth movements. Since 2019, ACLA has recognized 200+ leaders, granted over $1.2 million, and reached 100,000+ viewers, advancing climate action through awards, recognition, and finalist guides.
Replicate award-winning climate solutions in your community.
2026 Finalists
The ecoAmeria is proud to announce the 2026 American Climate Leadership Awards Semifinalists, recognizing individuals and organizations advancing effective, replicable climate solutions across the United States. These semifinalists reflect leadership at every scale from neighborhood efforts to national initiatives.
- Acterra: Action for a Healthy Planet (California): Empowers youth and families to drive the transition to a healthier future, preparing the next generation to become confident climate leaders.
- ACESWorld (National, HQ in WDC): Equips youth and families in vulnerable communities with practical tools to understand, prepare for, and respond to the health impacts of climate change.
- Bedford 2030 (New York): A grassroots effort in New York dedicated to achieving aggressive, local climate action goals defined by the Bedford Climate Action Plan.
- WINNER: CU Diploma in Climate Medicine (Colorado): Launched the Diploma in Climate Medicine, a first-of-its-kind, scalable education program preparing health professionals to lead on climate and health.
- Lutherans Restoring Creation (National): A national, grassroots movement promoting care for creation within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
- Piedmont Environmental Alliance (North Carolina): The Green Business Network helps businesses and nonprofits in North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad achieve their sustainability and climate goals.
- Run on Climate Education Fund (National): Empowers leaders in cities across the U.S. to eliminate fossil fuel use and pollution.
- RUNNER-UP: U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action (USFRA) (National): A farmer-led coalition representing 700,000 farmers and leading companies, advancing practical solutions for food security, rural vitality, and climate progress.
- Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) (Vermont): A statewide advocacy group focusing on climate and energy initiatives, including holding large polluters accountable.
- Youth Climate Institute (a program of the Howard County Conservancy) (Maryland): Builds the next generation of climate leaders through educating and certifying high school students.
2026 Youth Category Finalists
- Arizona Youth Climate Coalition: Mobilizes youth leaders to advance bold, student-driven climate solutions, including pushing the Tucson Unified School District toward net-zero emissions by 2040.
- Black Girl Environmentalist: Advances climate leadership equity through their Hazel M. Johnson Fellowship, a climate internship program creating paid, high-touch pathways for Black women, girls, and gender-expansive people to enter and thrive in environmental careers.
- Good Energy Collaborative’s Bi-City Youth Council: A youth-led environmental justice initiative that empowers young people in Chester and Philadelphia to lead climate education, renewable energy projects, and community organizing rooted in their own neighborhoods.
- JustME for JustUS: Empowers rural Maine’s frontline climate justice communities by hiring and supporting youth organizers (ages 15–30) to lead local climate action and civic engagement projects that directly reflect their communities’ needs and priorities.
- Madhvi4EcoEthics: Through the youth-led EcoSTEAMNinjas program, empowers young people worldwide with free, hands-on climate education to become informed and action-driven environmental leaders.
- Monarchs Matter: A youth-led nonprofit based in Long Island, NY, that empowers communities to address biodiversity loss and climate change through hands-on education and conservation initiatives centered on protecting monarch butterflies.
- Pareena Gupta’s nonprofit, The Sustainability Lens: Translates complex climate science into accessible media and community-driven education initiatives that empower young people and local communities to move from climate anxiety to constructive action.
- WINNER: Youth Eco Sports Scorecard (YESS): A patent-pending digital tool that measures and gamifies the environmental footprint and climate readiness of youth sports teams, empowering athletes, families, and leagues to embed practical climate action into everyday sports culture.
- Zero Hour Arkansas: A youth-led climate justice initiative that builds grassroots organizing, creative civic engagement, and narrative power to develop Southern youth as local-to-national climate leaders in an under-resourced, fossil-fuel-dependent state.
Semifinalists
- Acterra: Action for a Healthy Planet
- Alex Haraus
- American Public Health Association
- Americares
- Arizona Youth Climate Coalition, Youth Finalist
- Association for Community Empowerment Solutions (ACESWorld)
- Bedford 2030
- Black Girl Environmentalist, Youth Finalist
- Climate Generation
- CU Diploma in Climate Medicine
- Elders Climate Action
- Beth Tremblay – Ellmer School of Nursing, Old Dominion University
- Episcopal Church of Province One
- Florida Clinicians for Climate Action
- Good Energy Collaborative, Youth Finalist
- Groundwork Ohio River Valley
- JustME for JustUS, Youth Finalist
- Lutherans Restoring Creation
- Madhvi4EcoEthics, Youth Finalist
- Monarch PSG
- Monarchs Matter, Youth Finalist
- Nurturely
- Open Sky Community Services
- Overdrive Energy Solutions
- Pareena Gupta, The Sustainability Lens, Youth Finalist
- Piedmont Environmental Alliance
- Project Green Schools, Inc.
- Resilient Cities Catalyst
- Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science- Chicago Medical School
- Run on Climate Education Fund
- Sustainable CT
- The EcoLearn Project
- The genCLEO Project
- The Youth Eco Sports Scorecard (YESS), Youth Finalist
- U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action (USFRA)
- UC Center for Climate, Health, and Equity
- Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG)
- Youth Climate Institute (a program of the Howard County Conservancy)
- Zero Hour Arkansas, Youth Finalist
Honorable Mentions
Arizona Faith Network
Atmos ltd
Bright Saver
CEEJH
Climate Cardinals
Climate Mental Health Network
Elected Officials to Protect America
Equal Justice Works
Green Amendments For The Generations
Jewish Youth Climate Movement
Our Children’s Trust
Survival Bloc
The Climate Initiative
White Buffalo Land Trust
Award Categories
General
Open to individuals or organizations excelling in climate engagement or advocacy. Scale of reach and impact can range from local to national.
Winner $50,000; Runner-Up $25,000; 8 Finalists $5,000; 25 Semifinalists $1,000
Youth
Open to young leaders ages 14 – 24 who are building solutions locally in their schools, communities, or at the state level.
Winner $10,000; 8 Finalists $5,000
Honor
One exceptional climate leader advancing national progress on climate action and solutions.
Nationally Celebrated Judges
Alexia Leclercq
Cofounder, Start: Empowerment
Regina Benjamin, MD, MBA 18th US Surgeon General, Ex Officio
Kate Wright
Executive Director, Climate Mayors
Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie
President and General Secretary of the National Council of Churches
Jerome Foster II
American Environmental Activist
Lauren Belmonte
Founder, Change is Simple
Nathaniel Stinnett
Founder & Executive Director, Environmental Voter Project
Graham Hill
Founder, The Carbonauts
Learn more about our judges HERE.
Timeline
September 15, 2025:
Applications and
Nominations Open
January 5, 2026:
Applications Due, 5PM ET
January 30, 2026:
Leader Semi-Finalists Notified
February 16, 2026:
Finalist Materials Due, 5PM ET
April 16, 2026:
Winners Awards Broadcast
What’s New in 2026
- Expanded Qualification: Any individual or organization working locally to nationally from the spectrum of sectors, including health, faith, NGO, and community organizations.
- New Entrants: Welcoming small business applicants and other organizations with climate programs.
- Easier Application: A single, streamlined application.
What’s the Same
- Recognizing climate leadership from local to national and broad engagement.
- Awards for impact with clear tactics and measurable results.
- Promoting replicable success with stepwise finalist guide features for others to replicate.
- Esteemed judging panel to review your application.
- Current efforts only. No ideas or plans.
Q+A: Live Info Session
Enter yourself, your organization, or your community, and help America scale what works. For updates and the application: subscribe to ecoAmerica’s newsletter, follow our socials, or email [email protected]. You can also apply in real-time, or have your questions immediately answered on your application in our live info session on Thursday, December 4, at 12 PM ET. Join us at: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85486376820
The 2025 Finalists
The 2025 American Climate Leadership Awards finalists highlighted how climate leadership grows in communities nationwide. From schools and health initiatives to city programs, grassroots organizations, faith congregations, and local media, these leaders are advancing practical solutions that engage people where they are and inspire broader action across the country.
2025 Finalists
- Winner: Change is Simple
- Runner-Up: Britt Wray – CIRCLE at Stanford Psychiatry
- City of Savannah — 100% Savannah
- Climate Generation
- Denver Public Schools
- Janice Evans Hawkins – Old Dominion University
- NH Healthy Climate
- Smiley Audio Media
- St. Peter’s Episcopal Church – Fernandina Beach, FL
- The University of California Center for Climate, Health, and Equity
2025 Youth Finalists
- Winner: Alexia Leclercq
- Bay Area Youth Climate Summit
- Carolyn He – Project Green Schools
- Golda Och Academy (GOA) Chapter of the Jewish Youth Climate Movement (JYCM)
- Pencil 2 Planet
- Prairie Restoration Crew – St. Mark’s School of Texas
- SEI Climate Corps
- Siddhan Shah – Quest Science Center
- Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action
Learn More About the Awards
What will the winners receive?
General Leader Winner $50,000
Runner-Up $25,000
Finalists $5,000
Semifinalists $1,000
Additional Category
Youth Category Winner $10,000
Finalists $5,000
The finalists, runner-up, and winners will also receive prominent national recognition before, during, and after the event including in social, earned, and owned media from ecoAmerica. All youth entrants qualify for leader awards.
How do you apply?
- Apply – Any eligible individual or organization can submit an application using this form by the January 5 deadline. Whether you are deepening your work in one community or are a leader scaling your program nationally, we invite you to apply to showcase your climate leadership.
- Nominate – If you know of someone who you believe qualifies for this award, please nominate them, and we will invite them to apply.
- After reviewing all applications, the most promising leader submissions will be named semifinalists, and invited to submit more detailed proposals for finalist consideration. The top leader semifinalists will be promoted in ecoAmerica communications and online, receiving recognition for reaching that stage.
- Top 10 – Leader semifinalist submissions will be reviewed, and from this group, ten finalists will be selected, notified, and promoted as Finalists for the American Climate Leadership Awards 2026. The winner and runner-up will be announced in Spring 2026.
What are the eligibility requirements?
The American Climate Leadership Awards seeks submissions from initiatives that have:
Current programming in place or completed programming within the past year. Please note that plans for future programs will not be considered.
Demonstrated leadership and success in engaging a broader diversity of Americans to build public support and political resolve for climate preparedness, resilience, sustainability, and mitigation solutions.
A strong track record of effective climate action, including clear program objectives, tactics, and measurable results.
Successful programs or initiatives at the local or regional level, or for leaders at the national level that can be replicated by others.
Reached new audiences: We welcome applications from across the country, from the local to national level, and from all communities. In particular, we encourage applications from individuals and organizations working to bring in or include audiences who are new to climate action. PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ACCEPT NATIONAL SUBMISSIONS FROM LEADERS ONLY. (NATIONAL YOUTH APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.)
Current programming in place or completed programming within the past year. Please note that plans for future programs will not be considered.
How will my application be evaluated?
The Selection Committees for ACLA 2026 is comprised of climate experts and leaders from across a diversity of sectors and constituencies who will score the submissions based on the following criteria:
- Impact and a track record of success, including measurable key success metrics.
- Replicability, in other words, how easily another person or organization could follow your example and recreate a similar program for another region or constituency.
- How the initiative is broadening participation in climate action by engaging new audiences not typically involved in the climate movement.
- Innovation, including new, novel, or uniquely effective tactics.
- Effective storytelling, including demonstrating the success of how your program built public support and/or political will to slow and/or stop climate change or prepare or build resilience to it.
Who should apply?
The Selection Committees for ACLA 2026 welcomes applications from:
- Transformational leaders who are employing innovative methods to broaden the participation of Americans in climate change solutions locally, regionally, and/or nationally.
- Youth between 14 and 24 years of age working at the local and state level.
- Outstanding nonprofits that have demonstrably moved their communities, organizations, or constituencies to effective climate action, advocacy, preparedness, or resilience including community, health, faith, youth, conservation, rural, conservative, and other organizations.
- Local for-profits with outreach or engagement initiatives geared toward building support for climate action within their city, town, county, or state.
- Think you or someone you know deserves this recognition? APPLY or NOMINATE a leader.
Please Share on Social Media — Click HERE for the ACLA 2026 Social Toolkit.
Stay informed by signing up for our newsletter, following @ecoAmerica on social media, or emailing: [email protected]