Recognizing Indiana's Environmental Leaders
Governor's Awards recognize only exemplary projects. All projects must demonstrate significant, measurable results. Projects must be innovative, comprehensive and thoroughly documented.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), in cooperation with the Lieutenant Governor’s Office of Energy and Defense Development, the Indiana Department of Administration, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, is seeking nominations for the 2010 Governor’s Awards for Environmental Excellence. These awards recognize Indiana’s leaders who have implemented outstanding environmental strategies into their operations and decision-making processes. By seeking out and utilizing innovative environmental practices, facilities/programs reduce waste, save money, and contribute greatly to Indiana’s environmental protection efforts, as well as benefit the health and welfare of Indiana’s communities and the state as a whole. The Governor’s Awards are open to all Indiana facilities, state and local units of government, individuals, and technical assistance organizations that operate or support environmental protection efforts of outstanding quality. Eligible technical assistance organizations include, but are not limited to: public entities, educational groups, trade associations, individuals, public interest, community and labor groups.
Selection Criteria
Entries will be evaluated by a review committee selected by the Office of Pollution Prevention and Technical Assistance (OPPTA). The review committee will include representatives from industry, environmental organizations, education, and government. The review committee will evaluate the following information:
- A full description of the project, along with a brief project summary
- An explanation of how the project serves to advance environmental excellence
- The project’s economic benefits and savings, in detail
- How the project has improved the community or workplace
- How the project reflects leadership commitment to these improvements
- How the project can be transferred to other organizations
- The features that make the project outstanding
- The project’s overall environmental impact
Note: Applicants and nominees are encouraged to strengthen their project’s nomination by using the additional selection criteria, as listed under the Common Questions Section, if addition criteria allow the applicant/nominator to better convey the essentials of the project to the Review Committee. Failure to fill out this form completely and accurately or omitting questions may disqualify the project from the selection process.
Find information on award recipients from 1994 through 2009.
Select one of the following to learn about the application process:
- Eligibility Requirements
- How to Complete and Submit a Nomination
- Nomination Cover Page
- Nomination Submission Information
- Selection and Notification of Award Recipients
Eligibility Requirements
Nominated Projects/Facilities Must:
- Be located in Indiana.
- Focus on significant environmental protection activity in 2008 or 2009 in one of the award categories, and be limited to project-specific accomplishments.
- Demonstrate at least one year of quantifiable results (unless applying under the "Five Years’ Continuous Improvement" category) in a clear manner.
- Be innovative (i.e., new technology/process/program, or not widely used/implemented). "New" can mean that the technology exists, but has not been implemented by the majority of facilities/entities in the nominee’s industry sector. “Widely used/implemented” can have the same meaning. However, an entity nominating a technology/process/program that does exist and/or is in limited use must demonstrate significant environmental improvements as outlined in the questions for each category. Projects that have already been nominated, either by the same or a different entity, will most likely be given less consideration with regard to innovation, unless a new aspect has been developed for the program/project which results in significant environmental improvements, or significant continued improvement from the previous year.
- Be voluntary (not the result of mandates by regulations or enforcement decrees).
- Have good environmental, health and safety records. Unresolved compliance issues or enforcement actions involving the facility and/or its parent company may eliminate a project from consideration for an award.
- Agree to share project or program information with others through written materials that will appear in various IDEM publications and Web pages.
Nominations must be received (not postmarked) by IDEM by 5 p.m. EST on Friday, April 23, 2010. Late nominations will not be accepted. If you would like to verify receipt of your nomination, call (800) 988-7901 or (317) 232-8172.
How to Complete and Submit a Nomination
- Select the one award category that best matches the nature of the project. Read the descriptions carefully to ensure that the correct category is chosen. Please do not submit the same project under two categories, or for two different entities. Please note that projects submitted under the Pollution Prevention (P2) category must meet the definition of P2.
- Complete the Nomination Cover Page.
- For the project summary on the Nomination Cover Page, be succinct and concise, but descriptive. Nomination reviewers must be able to understand the project and why it deserves an award from this description, and will use it in the judging process.
- Answer the questions that pertain to your award category. Please remember: the initial nomination review will be based upon the project summary and answers to the questions. This information must demonstrate to the reviewers how the project or individual meets the criteria for the category chosen, and why an award is deserved.
- Please limit the answer portion to three double-sided pages in hard-copy format or six pages in electronic format.
- Submit the following information: the Nomination Cover Page, the answers to the questions for the category chosen, and any supplemental material if necessary. (Include supplemental material only if essential to understanding the project.)
- Nominations may be submitted in hard copy via U.S. mail, hand-delivery, or fax, or electronically via e-mail to the address/number listed below. If submitting a nomination electronically or via fax, please ensure that all graphs or charts will print legibly.
- Submit only one copy of each nomination. If submitting electronically and in hard copy, please indicate such on the hard copy. Do not submit in binders or folders.
- Submit separate nomination packets (including Nomination Cover Page) for each project.
- Call (800) 988-7901 or in Indianapolis call (317) 232-8172 with questions.
Nomination Cover Page
Nomination Submission Information
Mailing Address (for submission via U.S. or overnight mail):
Indiana Department of Environmental Management
Office of Pollution Prevention and Technical Assistance
ATTN: Governor’s Awards
Mail Code 60-04, W041
100 N. Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2251
Physical Address (for hand-delivery):
Indiana Department of Environmental Management
Office of Pollution Prevention and Technical Assistance
402 W. Washington St., W-041
Indianapolis, Indiana
Fax (write on cover sheet "ATTN: Governor’s Awards"):
(317) 233-5627
E-mail (for electronic submission):
ctap (at) idem.in.gov
Nominations must be received (not postmarked) by IDEM by 5 p.m. EST on Friday, April 23, 2010. Late nominations will not be accepted. If you would like to verify receipt of your nomination, call (800) 988-7901 or (317) 232-8172.
Selection and Notification of Award Recipients
After the nominations are received, they will be evaluated and scored by review committees consisting of representatives from industry, academia, government and environmental organizations. A committee exists for each award category.
Concurrent with the committee reviews, nominees’ compliance history with IDEM, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Lieutenant Governor’s Office of Energy Policy and the Indiana Department of Revenue will also be assessed. The existence of violations with one or more agencies may result in a nominee’s disqualification, depending on the violation’s nature and severity. Violations do not automatically result in a disqualification. IDEM may contact nominees regarding violations that could be easily resolved and work with them towards resolution.
Selected finalists will receive an on-site visit in June or July 2010, during which the validity and comprehensiveness of the program submitted for nomination will be evaluated.
IDEM anticipates notifying award recipients by August 2010. Official notification will be made by letter. There may be multiple award recipients selected in each category, or there may be no awards given for a category.
Note: Information submitted in nominations for Governor’s Awards becomes public record. Entities that wish for certain information submitted in a nomination to remain confidential may call IDEM’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Technical Assistance at (800) 988-7901 for submission instructions.
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